MCOSA, MPN, MISD, MCTFT, and CADCA sponsored
COUNTERING THE DRUG CULTURE
October 26, 2012
Key Concepts:
- Hear what coalitions are doing to counter messages that glamorize drugs
- Find out how the entertainment industry is working to make sure alcohol and drug
portrayals are accurate
- See what drugs are specifically associated with a "drug culture"
- Learn how media literacy and an understanding of media messaging can help coalitions
counter the drug culture
What are we saying when we say there is a drug culture out there?
Shared ideas about drugs, the acceptance of drug use, and the glamorization of drug use in our community.
The adults are also part of the drug culture (ex: talking about their own experiences taking drugs and drinking alcohol when they were in college). It spans the generations.
Media has an effect on messages about drugs that both reflect the culture and contribute to the culture.
There are multiple influences that affect children, such as parents, adults in the community, and teachers. These adults need to be clear in their own mind about drug use and communicate that in clear manor (do not send mixed messages).
What about the messages the youth are seeing in TV,movies, and music?
Pro substance message in movies – more than 2/3 of animated films made between 1937 and 1997 targeted through youth feature at least one instance of use of tobacco or alcohol.
Pro substance messages in popular music – adolescents are exposed to 84 explicit substance use references every day in popular music.
Top 279 songs in 2005 that mentioned Alcohol, Tobacco, or other drugs: 80% Rap, 37% Country, 20% of RB/hip-hop, 14% Rock, and 9% Pop.
Pro substance message on television – 20% mention illicit drugs, 19% showed characters using tobacco, and 71% showed the consumption of alcohol.
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An example of how one community is addressing marijuana influences
in their culture:
One coalition in San Diego is using comprehensive approaches to battle marijuana influences in their culture. Coalitions in the community got together and formed a county wide initiative called HARM – Health Advocates Rejecting Marijuana.They want to “push back” the norms that exist for teenagers that marijuana is harmless They have 5 major policy campaigns, with the overall goal to (1) Reduce youth marijuana use; (2) Limit accessibility; (3) Change perception
The Headshop Campaign is designed to control and reduce shops selling drug paraphernalia
The Retailers Campaign has the goal of restricting items that encourage marijuana use.
The Special Events Campaign restrictssales and distribution of items promoting pot use; prohibits marijuana use at family events.
Other Campaigns to address media campaigns and dispensaries
How are young people able to counter the culture?
Young people are the ones that know the culture better than anyone. You need them at your coalition meetings. They can guide coalitions on where to go, they can identify many problems in the area (especially with the youth), and they can connect with their own peers, and set examples for them.
You need to understand the teen lingo. The “Do You Speak Teen” Campaign does that. This print PSA features a text message graphic and tips to help parents keep their teens drug free. Urges parents to talk with teens about alcohol abuse and drug abuse, set "no-drug" rules, become more involved with their teens, and keep alert to new teen drug use trends. To download this print PSA, go to
The media and messaging – do they have any power over us?
Media messages are designed to be very entertaining, informational, and very influential. We are all immersed in a “media world”. One example of making great strides in affecting the message is the TV show “Interventions.”
The entertainment industry provides a Prism Award (The Art of Making a Difference) yearly. The PRISM award are entertainments recognition of accurate depiction of substance abuse, addiction, treatment, recovery and mental health issues in feature films, television, video, comic books, music entertainment, and interactive media.
Message Interpretation Processing Model:
Perceived
Realism
Positive Expectancies
PerceivedIdentificationAssociated with Substance Use
SimilaritySubstance Use Behaviors
Desirability
Adapted from Austin and Meili, 1994
Media Literacy Education – the way in which you can empower young people to learn what’s happening and interpret the messages
What is Media Literacy? The ability to access, analyze, evaluate and produce communications in a variety of forms; Media literacy programs designed to teach people the skills they need to intelligently navigate the media and filter through the hundreds of media messages they receive every day.
Aims of Media Detective: Encourage healthy cognition about abstaining from underage alcohol and tobacco use; Enhance students’ ability to apply critical thinking skills to interpret media messages; Delay or prevent the onset of underage alcohol or tobacco use.
Coalitions should use multi-layer, multi-level approach to counteract media messages.
Content Providers:
Frank Byndloss, Prevention Specialist, CommPre, a program of Horizon Services, Inc., Hayward, CA
As a Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist, Frank coordinates several coalitions in the San Francisco Bay Area, which address alcohol, tobacco and marijuana issues in the unincorporated areas of Alameda County. Frank coordinates the Ashland/ Cherryland Violence Prevention collaborative, a recipient of a Drug Free Communities grant to address the unique cultural, social and political norms which add to marijuana problems.
Marie Gallo Dyak, Entertainment Industries Council, Inc., Executive Vice President, Program Services and Government Relations
Marie Dyak is responsible for concept development and implementation of special projects primarily involving the entertainment industry and the substance abuse prevention and mental health fields. This includes public service initiatives, special events, and development of in-kind support for prevention, information dissemination, and entertainment-based human resource issues. Her long history of working with both health/public interest and entertainment fields gives her a unique perspective that allows her to understand complex SAMHSA-prioritized health concerns and communicate these to the entertainment industry in a way television writers and other such lay audiences can clearly understand.
Dr. Janis Kupersmidt, Innovation Research and Training, Durham, NC
Dr. Kupersmidt received her Ph.D. from Duke University in 1985 with specialization in child clinical psychology. Related to substance abuse prevention efforts, Dr. Kupersmidt and her colleagues at iRT have developed two media literacy substance abuse prevention programs, namely, Media Detective, for elementary school-aged children and Media Ready, for middle school-aged children. Both programs are have been accepted for review by the SAMHSA National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
This broadcast may be viewed at: ; click on “Broadcasts/Videos”, Click on “Past Broadcasts” then look for the program you want to view.
Links from Countering the Drug Culture:
Entertainment Industries Council -
Center for Media Literacy -
The Cool Spot -
NIDA For Teens -
Look Sharp -
The Prisim Awards -