Drug marketing often presents a glamorous image of drug use, ignoring its negative effects.
for some masive means of comunication, on April 20, curiously they mentioned it as the international day of marijuana consumption, a date that is celebrated throughout the world and that has generated a great deal of controversy. On the one hand, we have those who defend its recreational use, on others its medicinal use, and on the other hand, we have those who warn about its harmful effects on health.
In the midst of all this, we found the drug marketinga strategy that seeks to promote drug culture through different platforms. This strategy not only serves to promote entertainment content linked to drug trafficking and trivializes drug use, but also their businesses and lifestyle.
It is important to take into account that numerous scientific studies affirm that the consumption of marijuana can have negative effects on health. Some of these effects deteriorate the development of the brain, highlighting memory and learning problems, which are glimpsed in worse academic results, premature abandonment of studies, and work habits. Dependence, emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression, broncho-pulmonary diseases and certain types of cancer, heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias), psychosis and schizophrenia (especially in predisposed individuals).
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2022, the legalization of cannabis in some parts of the world appears to have accelerated daily use and related health consequences. Approximately 200 million people used cannabis in 2019, representing 4% of the world’s population. The number of cannabis users has increased by almost 18% in the last decade.
However the drug marketing often presents a glamorous image of drug use, ignoring its negative effects. This can lead to a misperception of drug use and poorly informed decisions.
Globalization and the mass media can have an impact on marijuana use. The media have been one of the most affected by the advent of the Internet and then social networks. The classic one-dimensional concept of sender-receiver gave way, giving way to a two-way channel through which everyone emits and receives, where users of information not only comment on it, but also contextualize and validate it. Thus generating a communicational context, which confuses and distorts the corroboration of the facts.
One scientist who has thought about marijuana use is Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in the United States. In an interview with the BBC, she warned that “marijuana use can lead to problematic use—known as marijuana use disorder—which can take the form of addiction in severe cases. Recent data suggests that 30% of people who use marijuana may suffer from marijuana use disorder to some degree.”
In Argentina, according to a study carried out by the Secretariat for Comprehensive Drug Policies (Sedronar), around 7.8% of the Argentine population between the ages of 12 and 65 have used marijuana at least once in their lives. This equates to approximately 1,482,165 people.
In contrast to all this evidence-based knowledge. I invite the readers of this note to reflect, as well as those media with journalistic social responsibility, not to be accomplices of a Narcomarketing and instead of “celebrating the consumption of marijuana”, I understand that we should focus on educating the population about its effects on health and promoting healthier alternatives. Only then can we make informed and responsible decisions.
References used in the text:
- UNODC (2022). World Drug Report 2022.
- Volkow N (2022). Interview with BBC News.
- Sedronar (2017). National study on consumption of psychoactive substances.
Graduate in Psychology. Expert in dealing with addictions. University teacher. CIMACUP President.
Source: Ambito
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