Marijuana: The Facts And The Media Coverage

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A Research of the Media Coverage of the War on Drugs:

Marijuana: The Facts and the Media Coverage

The “war on drugs” was announced by President Nixon in 1971. The media has
been there since the very beginning: covering this so called war with every means at their
disposal. Some feel that this media frenzy was caused, in large part, by the government
of the United States of America. Others feel- that this heightened media coverage is a
direct result of the consequences of drugs and drug abuse. For whatever reasons that the
media was there, the participants in this pro and con attitude that surrounded the “war on
drugs,” used any platform that the media could provide them with to speak their thoughts
on the subject. The proprietors of these thoughts and words were people of all types.
They ranged from professors, to congressmen, to prisoners of the “war on drugs.” All of
these people had something to say and the media was there to listen to most all of it.
In the following pages two opposite views about the “war on drugs” will be
looked at. Those who believe the war on drugs is effective, and those who feel it is a
gross waste of money as well as a violation of human rights. Also, whether or not the
media played a non-bias role in covering both sides of the issue. In particular, the media
frenzy that lasted from 1983 to 1987 will be examined. This period in the coverage on
the “war on drugs” followed a classic pattern of a slow initial increase in overall media
attention, followed by a shift in emphasis to subjects of broader interest. Then interest in
the drug issues increased sharply, peaked, and declined. I will also look at the role the
media played in the stages of the “war on drugs.” From the fear that general America had
due to the large number of young adults and children who were smoking marijuana and
experimenting with mind altering substances, such as LSD, ...