cannabisnews.com: The Street Value of Canadian Journalism about WoDs The Street Value of Canadian Journalism about WoDs Posted by FoM on September 23, 2000 at 10:40:04 PT By Dan Gardner Source: Ottawa Citizen After working for five months in four countries preparing a series on illegal drugs, I think I'm entitled to a little self-indulgence. So bear with this journalist while he writes about journalism -- specifically, the media's role in the insanity of drug prohibition. It's a long and sorry record. Prohibition laws owe their very genesis to "drug scares" fomented by the media. Maclean's, for one, ran the racist screeds of Emily Murphy that led directly to legislation in the 1920s. The crack cocaine hysteria of the 1980s showed that modern journalism is not so far removed from Murphy's glory days. We exaggerated, invented facts, ignored evidence, lied and whipped up panic. The legacy of this shoddy work can be seen in such popular myths about drugs as the "instant addiction" canard, and in horrific American drug laws. There's a reason why the U.S. has more people in prison for drug offences than the European Union has for all crimes combined. The reason is the media. The recent coverage of the biker war and the shooting of reporter Michel Auger gives little reason to hope things are improving. True, the media haven't used the shooting as an excuse for an old-fashioned drug scare. But we've done something that may be just as dangerous: We've hardly mentioned drugs at all. One "analysis" of the gang war called it the result of our "affluence and complacency." Many long stories about the violence never mention drugs, as if gangs kill people for kicks. It's like writing about Al Capone's mayhem in Chicago without using the word "alcohol." Shallow reporting invites a shallow response. After all, if bikers are killing people for no reason, all society can do is make war on the gangs, and accept lost lives and liberties as the price. But if there's an underlying reason -- say, the trade in illegal drugs -- then we might consider whether there are other ways to deal with that issue. If the Charter of Rights is overridden to ban gang membership, media coverage of the biker war will be partly responsible. Or consider the announcement earlier this month that police had made two of the biggest heroin seizures in Canadian history. It was major news. Yet in none of the coverage I saw did a journalist ask the only question that matters: Will this cut drug supply enough to significantly reduce drug use? That's what the whole exercise is nominally about. Shouldn't we ask if it's accomplishing what it's supposed to? But no one did. The media are painfully credulous in dealing with the police, far more so than with any other institution. They give us numbers and we run them, no questions asked, leading to endless stories of uprooted marijuana plants that read like Vietnam War body counts -- "143 destroyed in latest operation" -- and are about as meaningful. Even worse are the "street value" reports police feed us. A seized field of marijuana, say, will have a "street value" of $200,000 because that's what you might get if you harvested, processed, shipped, and sold the marijuana in small portions. It's like saying a pond in Northern Ontario is worth $1 million because that's how much it could be worth if it were bottled, shipped and sold at Lollapalooza. It's a PR ploy to puff up the police success. And we fall for it time after time. The media seem blissfully unaware that the police -- like politicians, corporations and everybody else -- have their own interests and present things in ways favourable to those interests. That's not a knock against the police. It is the media who aren't doing their job. I could go on. The media often take popular wisdom about drugs as fact and fail to check with experts. We distort reality by delighting in the lurid. We don't dig for root causes. Many things will have to change if Canada is ever to have sane drug policies. Chief among them is journalism. Another matter. Liberal MP David Kilgour, in response to my series, wrote that legalization would make drug abuse soar. He ignored my empirical evidence that it would not, instead resting his claim on a column in the Citizen by James Q. Wilson. But Mr. Wilson also cited no evidence to support this view. So Mr. Kilgour's assertion rests only on another assertion. That is not a credible argument. It is a stack of turtles. And that is everything you need to know about the case for drug prohibition. Complete Title: The Street Value of Canadian Journalism about the War on DrugsDan Gardner is a member of the Citizen's editorial board. E-mail: dgardner thecitizen.southam.ca Read previous Dan Gardner columns at: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/columnists/gardner Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)Author: Dan GardnerPublished: September 23, 2000Copyright: 2000 The Ottawa CitizenContact: letters thecitizen.southam.ca Address: 1101 Baxter Rd.,Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 3M4Fax: 613-596-8522Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/You can read the entire series at: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/drugs MapInc. Articles - Dan Gardner:http://www.mapinc.org/gardner.htmCannabisNews Articles In The Series:The Pros and Cons of Prohibition: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7066.shtmlYou Can't Keep a Banned Drug Down: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7051.shtmlEurope Leading The Way To Smarter Drug Laws: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7039.shtmlAsking Police To A War That Can't Be Won: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7030.shtmlIllegal Drugs, Indecent Profits: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7019.shtmlHow The Drug War is Eroding Our Civil Liberties: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7010.shtmlDo Our Drug Laws Harm Us More Than They Help?: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7003.shtmlWar on Drug Smuggling Destructive and Senseless: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6991.shtmlNixon Launched The 30 Years' War as Election Issue: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6985.shtmlWhy Borders Don't Stop Illegal Drugs: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6980.shtmlDrug Trade Rots Away Mexican Society: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6970.shtmlAs Long As There Is Demand, There Will Be Supply: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6958.shtmlWhy The War On Drugs Has Failed: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6938.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by EdC on September 24, 2000 at 05:40:34 PT: Dan Gardner series in the Ottowa Citizen That was an excellent series, recommended reading for all. If you want a second opinion, use one that you value. Read it yourself.http://www.ottawacitizen.com/columnists/gardner [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by shishaldin on September 23, 2000 at 23:49:00 PT BRAVO! "Liberal MP David Kilgour, in response to my series, wrote that legalization would make drug abuse soar. He ignored my empirical evidence that it would not, instead resting his claim on a column in the Citizen by James Q. Wilson. But Mr. Wilson also cited no evidence to support this view. So Mr. Kilgour's assertion rests only on another assertion. That is not a credible argument. It is a stack of turtles."BRAVO Mr. Gardner! Show their "stack of turtles" for what it is for all to see. And the truth shall set you free.... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by freedom fighter on September 23, 2000 at 11:44:39 PT a honest journalist! He really did write the truth. Nothing but the truth. Just facts folks!"Under the guise of War on Drugs is Fascism.""It seemed to me that governments use drug laws to maintain the numbers of the populations. What would be a better way to hit two birds with one stone and get paid too? This is an unholy alliance." [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: