Marijuana, Mexico and the media

Prohibition movements have many common threads. Very often these movements follow an economic downturn. Furthermore, the group most often targeted by these movements is a displaced immigrant labor force. Alcohol prohibition suppressed Irish and German immigrants who came to the country to work in the factories. Early opium regulations were aimed at Chinese immigrants who entered the country to build the railroads. Similarly, marijuana prohibition targeted Mexican immigrants working in agriculture. For each of these prohibition movements, the media has provided a powerful vehicle for political rhetoric construction and reproduction. This thesis documents contemporary anti-drug policy, politics and rhetoric within the context of historical prohibition movement patterns. To develop a theoretical framework I synthesized historical and sociological accounts of five prohibition movements: alcohol, opium, cocaine, marijuana and the war on drugs. I applied this framework to an analysis of current media accounts of marijuana related crime. Using content analysis, I analyzed 75 2009-2011 news articles about marijuana related crime from the four most popular U.S. newspapers, by readership. I found evidence to suggest that historical patterns are still being reproduced in contemporary media accounts of drug related crimes.