NCJ Number
139380
Journal
Media Studies Journal Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1992), 65-76
Date Published
1992
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article, written by a former undercover narcotics agent, describes how he and many of his colleagues were addicted to drugs and his perspectives on drug law enforcement efforts.
Abstract
Citing statistics showing that blacks use less than 20 percent of America's illegal drugs, but that television news reports show blacks in 47 percent of their drug-related broadcasts, the author suggests that the U.S. Government is using the war on drugs as a means of furthering its racial persecution, and that the media is supporting that effort. He notes that, while drug addictions are symptomatic of larger problems in the inner-city ghettos, politicians and journalists tend to focus drug-war hype on those areas. He indicates that claims of drug-induced deaths and the drug- crime relationship are exaggerated. He excoriates the press for failing to aggressively report on the excesses of drug law enforcement programs.