The 1990s: decade of the stimulants?

Does the media fan fake panics, forecast possible issues, create real problems, or detect problems at an earlier stage than treatment resources? A study of the relationship of tabloid news coverage of MDMA (Ecstasy) to drug treatment service demand found that treatment agencies were more concerned about amphetamine use but conversely tabloid coverage centred on ecstasy. Casual enquiries to a few drug agencies one year later discovered reports of increased numbers of clients presenting for ecstasy and reports of the drug's increased availability. The relationship between media coverage and changing drug availability and drug use is unclear. Short-term studies are unreliable, and interpretation of the relationship between drug use and media coverage runs a permanent risk of generating contradictory conclusions. The need for long-term serious study of the relationship between the media and drug use is stressed.