NCJ Number
150230
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1994) Pages: 7-31
Date Published
1994
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This article suggests that drug scares follow broadly similar patterns in which the public is told through various media that the drug in question is currently enjoying an explosion in popularity, that it is extremely addictive and even occasional use can cause addiction, and that the drug has very harmful psychological and physical side effects.
Abstract
In 1989 and 1990, the U.S. experienced a short-lived panic related to the alleged increase in the use of smokable methamphetamine, also known as ice. The concern about ice was not sustained, and media references to the subject died down within a few months. This author argues that the use of ice was originally a localized event, restricted to Hawaii, and that the words "epidemic" and "explosion" in relation to its use arose from partisan and bureaucratic rivalries within the State. The emergence of a national fear was made possible by the existence of specialized agencies and investigative bodies focusing on drug issues and the intensification of public fears following the crack scare. This article examines the rhetoric of ice, the analogy made between ice and cocaine, and the way in which public officials constructed the ice danger. These elements are likely to lead to other ephemeral drug scares in the future. 1 table, 1 note, and 74 references