Mapping a moral panic: News media narratives and medical expertise in public debates on safer supply, diversion, and youth drug use in Canada

Essay
par
Michaud, Liam et al

Date de publication

2024

Géographie

Canada

Langue de la ressource

English

Texte disponible en version intégrale

Oui

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

Oui

Évalué par des pairs

Unknown

Constatations/points à retenir

The essay assesses the claims of moral entrepreneurs against the current landscape of opioid use, diversion, and overdose among youth, notes the key role played by medical expertise in this and previous moral panics, and identifies what the convergence of these narratives materialize for people who use drugs and healthcare access, as well as the broader policy responses such narratives activate.

La conception ou méthodologie de recherche

Employing situational analysis method, and drawing on the policy studies and social science scholarship on moral panics, this essay examines news media coverage from January to July 2023, bringing this into dialogue with other existing empirical sources on safer supply (e.g. Coroner's reports, program evaluations, debates among experts in medical journals). 

Mots clés

About PWUD
Barriers and enablers
Diversion
Evidence base
Hesitancy of prescribers
Legal system/law enforcement
Overdose
Policy/Regulatory
Safer supply
Stigma
Youth