Deconstructing Differential Drug Coverage within a Malaysian Media Source

ABSTRACT

Many researchers have noted that media coverage of drugs can be sensationalized and/or have questionable accuracy. Additionally, it has been alleged that the media often treats all drugs as harmful and can fail to differentiate between different types of drugs. Within this context, the researchers sought to deconstruct how media coverage was similar and/or different according to drug type within a national media outlet in Malaysia. Our sample comprised 487 news articles published over a two-year period. Articles were coded to reflect thematic differences in drug framing. We focus on five drugs widely used in Malaysia (amphetamines, opiates, cannabis, cocaine, and kratom) and assess the most frequent themes, crimes, and locations mentioned in reference to each drug. All drugs were primarily covered in a criminal justice context, and articles highlighted concern about the spread of these drugs and their abuse. Drug coverage varied, particularly in association with violent crimes, specific regions, and discussion of legality. We find evidence of both similarities and differences in how drugs were covered. Variation in coverage demonstrated that certain drugs were deemed a heightened threat, as well as reflected broader social/political processes shaping ongoing debates over treatment approaches and legality.

KEYWORDS:

• Drugs
• media coverage
• moral panic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The authors made the decision to code the previous two years of articles at the time the study started. This was four months after Malaysia began COVID lockdowns. As Griffin et al. (2013) found in a 100-year study of cannabis in The New York Times, high-profile events can lead to diminished coverage (such as cannabis coverage during World War II). While it will probably be many years before researchers better understand the impact of COVID on drug use and media coverage of drug use, some research has indicated that media coverage has reported increased substance use (Amram et al. 2021). Whether this has led to a fundamental change in the nature or substance of drug coverage is difficult to determine.

2. Some of these drug terms are not commonly known. Yaba is a name commonly used in Southeast Asia for a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine (Jahan et al. 2020). Syabu (and other similar spelling variations) is a term for methamphetamine, often in its crystal form (Onzer, Majid, and Othman 2022). Kratom (or ketum) is a plant found in Southeast Asia. Its active chemical is mitragynine (Hassan et al. 2013). Erimin 5 is a name in Malaysia for Nimetazepam (Singh et al. 2020).

3. In the coding, “law enforcement” was coded as any instance law enforcement was mentioned in the article. There is the possibility that law enforcement would overlap with other categories, such as “seizure,” since any seizure of drugs would be done by law enforcement.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.