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Published

2015-07-07

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Vol. 3 No. 2 (2015): Special Issue on Voice and Representation of Marginal Groups

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Mind-Altering Discourse: Experts and Sources in the News on the UK Drug Policy Reform Debate

Alison Katherine Smith

Bournemouth University

Abstract

On 30th October 2014, a Home Office report concluded that tough drug enforcement does not decrease the use of illegal drugs, casting doubt (according to some) on 40 years of UK drugs policy.  This study presents a quantitative content analysis of media coverage following the publication of the report.  It finds the political elites dominate the coverage, and the debate is impoverished by a lack of 'expert' source diversity and breadth of focus.  Furthermore, despite the apparently pro-reform tone of the media coverage, against the prevailing status quo where overarching narratives on drugs are rarely challenged, this study concludes it is in the narrow scope of the debate, rather than the absence of 'experts' and the predominance of the political elite, where evidence of hegemony and underlying dominant ideology can be located.

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