Hi, Jay and other dear teachers.
UCLA credentials are impressive, but I'm not impressed by Kleiman's argument. He begins his statement: "I was in my office this afternoon, reading the latest press-release-dressed-up-as-a-research-report from the Sentencing Project, in which Ryan S. King "proves" that methamphetamine isn't really much of a problem." That's a misrepresentation of the report. The report says that the meth problem is a localized, not national and not spreading, problem. In fact the report begins: "Methamphetamine is a dangerous drug that represents a substantial challenge to policymakers, health care professionals, social service providers, and the law enforcement community. Over time, methamphetamine abuse can result in the deterioration of physical and mental capacities, the dissolving of family ties, diminished employment prospects, and a lifetime spent cycling through the criminal justice system. The consequences of irresponsible drug abuse harm not only the individual, but his or her family and the larger community. Thus, it is important that our public resources be effectively directed to both prevent the development of such a habit as well as treat those individuals before the proverbial die has been cast." That doesn't sound like a claim that methamphetamine is not a problem to me.
Kleiman goes on to excoriate the author of the report, Ryan S. King, for not publishing his results in refereed sources. Instead he "only" publishes in the NY Times, Washington Post, and National Public Radio. Call me Pollyanna, but I'm likely to trust journalists who have to verify their sources over a blogger whose purpose is to opine, often in dramatic fashion.
Nowhere in Kleiman's blog does he offer evidence to refute King's report other than to question the legitimacy of one of the sources of data and offer up a personal anecdote. As sociologists, we should all know that one experience does not a national epidemic make. It may help us talk about the social processes through which things are constructed, but it does virtually no good in assessing national trends of any kind of behavior.
I don't object to people claiming that speed kills; nor does King. I do object to people claiming that the problem is something other than what it is. Media coverage of this drug moral panic is just like every other drug moral panic documented: exciting and dramatic, but not supportable by empirical evidence. Just like the "crack epidemic" of the late 1980's, meth use had been declining for a while before the panic even began.
Again, just to be clear, no one is claiming that meth use is not problematic. What we are claiming is that the nature of the problem is not its epidemic proportions, because it is not an epidemic. This is a social problem that has grave consequences for all of our civil rights. Consider the lingering effects of the crack epidemic as the Supreme Court now allows the cops to break down your front door without announcing their presence or the purpose of their search. That case yielded a bust for a small amount of cocaine and a handgun. Moral panics are indeed a problem. As sociologists, I think we should be sensitive to which kind of problem they represent.
As always, A.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Willamette University
900 State Street
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503.370.6313
Fax: 503.370.6512
"It's not enough to know that things work.
The laurels go to those who can show HOW they work."
From: "Jay Livingston" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Teaching Sociology" <[email protected]>
Subject: TEACHSOC: Re: Meth moral panic
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 05:53:59 -0700
>
>Mark Kleiman (UCLA) is a drug policy analyst. He also runs a good blog
>-- The Reality-Based Community. Take a look at what he has to say
>about the meth myth myth.
>
>http://www.samefacts.com/
>
>
>
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- TEACHSOC: Meth moral panic D. Angus Vail
- TEACHSOC: Re: Meth moral panic Gerry Grzyb
- TEACHSOC: Re: Meth moral panic Jay Livingston
- TEACHSOC: Re: Meth moral panic D. Angus Vail
