If yesterday's reporting on Mephedrone or 4-MMC was slightly hysterical, then we now seem to be moving into full moral panic territory. Moral panics are not just driven by exaggeration and overreaction through fear, but directly fuelled by downright lies, obfuscation and completely inaccurate media reporting, all of which has come together in today's Sun in a quite remarkable fashion.
Not content with just wanting 4-MMC to be banned, it seems determined to inflate the number of deaths associated with it, claiming that there have been 5 while only 1 has today been directly linked to the drug, but also spreading likely myths. The paper is suggesting that "dealers" are adding Crystal Meth to it, which seems highly unlikely on two grounds: firstly that Meth is not a popular drug in this country, especially when compared to the US; and secondly that the most popular methods of taking it are different. Meth is almost always either injected or smoked, whereas 4-MMC is mainly taken either by snorting it, by swallowing it in capsule form, "bombing it" or mixing it into a drink. Meth can be snorted, and it can potentially be mixed with 4-MMC, but if anyone is doing so, my bet would be only those who consider themselves truly "hardcore" are likely to chance it.
The paper's main claim today though is that teachers are having to hand 4-MMC back to pupils who have it in their possession, as it has no age restriction and isn't illegal. The paper here seems to be using a typical tabloid short cut: what it does definitively report is the comments made by Mike Stewart, head of Westlands School in Torquay:
Mr Stewart said: "Both teachers and police are powerless to do anything about it.
"Items can be confiscated, but because this drug is still legal it would have to be given back at the end of the day and that's disturbing.
"This drug is highly dangerous and must be banned."
Note that Stewart doesn't actually say that he has had to give 4-MMC back to a student after it's been confiscated, because in all likelihood he hasn't. He does though seem to be one of these teachers that love to talk to the media, as this video on the BBC shows. From this the paper has directly taken the line that teachers are having to give it back, which there is absolutely no evidence for whatsoever.
My school days aren't that long behind me, and teachers then were all too confiscate happy, and the time the item was kept was often far longer than just until the end of the day. The idea that a teacher would confiscate a white powder, even if told that it was 4-MMC and still hand it back to a student is ludicrous. The very first thing that would happen is that a higher authority (probably up to head of year, deputy head, even head level) would be brought in for something so potentially serious, and then almost certainly the police as well. After all, you can't take a student's word for it that the white powder they have in their possession isn't cocaine or speed. The Devon and Cornwall police themselves issued a press release today which ought to fully debunk this claim (Update: .doc, thanks again to Carl):
"If the seized drugs are found to be mephedrone no charges will follow under the Misuse of Drugs Act, but it is possible that other offences such as those under Intoxicating Substances Act 1985 could be brought. If, after testing, the seized substance is identified as mephedrone the Force will retain and destroy the product."
No chance whatsoever then that teachers or even police would have to give it back. The Sun could have checked this themselves, but instead thought that scaring people would be a better option.
Having then created a nightmarish picture of teachers having to give potentially deadly drugs back to their students, the paper moves on to lambasting the government, its other favourite popular past-time :
Home Secretary Alan Johnson was blasted as it emerged that a decision on a ban had been delayed SIX MONTHS.
An official review was launched last October, then postponed when the scientist in charge quit in protest at the sacking of chief drugs adviser Prof David Nutt.The committee has still not reported, meaning any ban is still months away.
Not true - the ACMD is due to give advice to ministers at the end of the month, regardless of the problems caused by the sacking of Prof David Nutt, whom the Sun previously smeared by association, targeting his own children. The government has said it will take "immediate action" upon receiving that advice, although how much they can do considering parliament will have to rise on the 6th for an election on May 6th is difficult to see. The best plan to deal with it in a prohibitive fashion, as pointed out yesterday, was to stick it in a "Class D" classification, age-restricting and taking control of the supply until more research and studies had been carried out. This though simply isn't good enough for those who have already lost loved ones, even if they don't yet know whether it was 4-MMC itself that killed them, newspapers which are determined to use any stick to beat the government and other politicians who are equally set on proving their law and order credentials.
The paper's leader has all of this and more besides:
SCHOOL heads are furious at the Government shambles over killer party drug meow meow.
Teachers seize stashes but have to return them because there is no law against the lethal substance.
Nonsense, as we've established above.
Instead of acting, Labour cobble up plans to microchip puppies - in an attempt to divert attention from the Jon Venables scandal.
Yes, that policy was directly cooked up to distract everyone. Do they really expect anyone to believe such utter rot?
Lord Mandelson admits he's never HEARD of meow meow. Shouldn't a senior minister be better informed?
When it has absolutely nothing to do with his own ministerial duties, no, he doesn't necessarily have to be.
America can ban drugs instantly for a year pending investigation.
Why can't we? Labour mumble about a decision by the summer.
Even if 4-MMC was to be banned immediately, does the paper really think that'll either solve anything or decrease the dangers of taking it? Of course it won't, it's just the same old "sending a message" nonsense which has failed now for over half a century.
Tackling meow meow is urgent.
The Government must wake up or have more deaths on its conscience.
More deaths on their conscience? Is the paper really suggesting that the government bears some responsibility for those who die as a result of taking potentially dangerous substances? This is the equivalent of claiming that the government bears responsibility for everyone who dies as a result of alcohol poisoning because that's legal, or through lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking. For a newspaper that repeatedly stresses personal responsibility, this is the complete antitheses of that philosophy. By the same yardstick you could claim that the media could have deaths on their conscience through the hype and hysteria which they're spreading about 4-MMC; you can bet that there'll be more inquisitive and inclined to try it this weekend as a result of all the coverage, regardless of the panic associated with it. If the government has a responsibility, then so does the media. The Sun has resolutely failed that test.
3 comments:
The Sun is desperate for Britain to get a Crystal Meth problem. Private Eye did a piece where the Sun had predicted a massive rise in use nearly every year for five or so years, which never manifested itself.
I wonder... you have a legal drug, which by all accounts causes pretty 'decent'* drug effects on it's own. Who on earth would then lace it with an ILLEGAL drug? Especially one that's more expensive.
On a bit of logic alone, it's clear that it's likely to never have been mixed with Crystal Meth by dealers.
* by decent I mean users get the high they're looking for and don't need to add anything
The DCSF's 2004 guidance to schools - which is currently being updated - says:
Schools will need to agree procedures for managing confiscations of other unauthorised drugs. The presence of a second adult witness is advisable.
Not bad for a document that was drafted before the concept of legal highs had developed.
Just for the record every headteacher in the country was sent a physical copy of that document when it was published and, as you'll see if you follow the link above, TeacherNet still has a PDF that can be downloaded should schools want to be absolutely sure what their powers and responsibilities are.
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