Dissertation
Methedrine, ice, crank, and crystal: An historical and cultural examination of methamphetamine in the United States
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
05/2009
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006105
Abstract
In recent years, hysteria over America's "meth epidemic" has infiltrated air waves, newspaper columns, and Congressional hearings. Contrary to much public opinion, methamphetamine is not a new drug, nor is it remarkably different from other amphetamines. The most recent "meth epidemic" is merely the latest of several methamphetamine scares that preceded it. A dope fiend mythology, conveyed through a discourse of fear, serves to reduce the sociological and historical complexities of the modern methamphetamine problem to simple personal troubles. From a social constructionist framework, attention is given to the various ways in which claims-makers have produced alarm through mass media depictions of the methamphetamine users and traffickers. Attention is also paid to many of the unintended consequences resulting from over a century's worth of U.S. drug prohibitions. It is suggested that the current methamphetamine problem has evolved from a series of American drug policies enacted largely within a culture of fear.
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Details
- Title
- Methedrine, ice, crank, and crystal
- Creators
- Nicholas Lawrence Parsons
- Contributors
- Clayton James Mosher (Chair)Jennifer Schwartz (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Department of SociologyMichael P. Allen (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Sociology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 416
- Identifiers
- 99901055023401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation