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Drugs
Have you used drugs other than those required for medical reasons?
yes no
yes no
Do you know anybody within your circle of friends/family that do drugs? …………Yes/No
In your opinion
yes no
yes
In your opinion what drugs do you feel are the most dangerous?
Have you ever taken drugs because those around you were? Yes/No
yes no
Do you know the effects of the drugs you are taking? Yes/No
From my questionnaire, I have found that within the ages of 16-65+ 8 out of 10 people have tried
drugs for a none medical reason and one of the main reasons for this was because the people
around them were taking drugs too. Many people agree the most dangerous of drugs were
ketamine, cocaine and legal highs.
Interview
I set up a interview with a anonymous student talking about the topic of drug use.
CP – Have you ever taken drugs before for a none medical reason?
SP – yes I have, the first drug I ever tried was marijuana and i was 15 years old.
SP – yes, all of my friends were trying the drug and I was curious around what would happen, I guess
I was young and naive.
SP – I guess I sort of grew up with people taking drugs all around me, I grew up in an area where it
was common to take drugs. From a young age I saw people every day taking drugs.
CP – Do you believe that growing up around drugs has effected your views on drugs in adult life?
SP – In a way, I do. I was always curious to why people took drugs if they were so horrible like I had
been told.
CP – interesting, have you ever taken any other substances other than marijuana?
SP – yes I have, during the age of around 17/18 I went through a stage where I wanted to have fun
and experiment. So I decided to experiment with different drugs such as MDMA and cocaine. Both
drugs were a massive jump from marijuana. The drugs I tried were also very addictive and I did go
through a phase of taking them quite frequently.
CP – wow, could you explain in what way you mean you were addicted?
SP – well, I went out quite frequently basically every night and every time I went out I could not have
fun without taking drugs and then it came to the point where I didn’t feel normal without being on
drugs. Eventually I realised this was wrong and told a family member what was happening.
SP – no, never. They ruined a lot of things for me, relationships and I never had any money. Although
trying new things may seem fun, the effects are dangerous and I could never risk that.
SP – although it may seem like a bit of fun and your friend is okay,
you might not be. Along the line things will change or get worse.
Stop while you can, addiction can occur at any time and it is one of
the hardest things to get through.
Secondary research
I research articles about drug abuse and found a article on teen drug abuse. Some facts I found out
were:
Drug abuse is when you use legal or illegal substances in ways you
shouldn’t.
Government statistics
Drug misuse related hospital admissions (England)
•In 2015/16 there were 8,621 hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of drug-related mental
health and behavioural disorders. This is 6 per cent more than 2014/15 and 11 per cent higher than
2005/06.
•There were 15,074 hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of poisoning by illicit drugs. This is
6 per cent more than 2014/15 and 51 per cent more than 2005/06.
Deaths related to drug misuse (England and Wales)
•In 2015 there were 2,479 registered deaths related to drug misuse. This is an increase of 10 per
cent on 2014 and 48 per cent higher than 2005.
•Deaths related to drug misuse are at their highest level since comparable records began in 1993.
•This level of drug use was similar to the 2014/15 survey (8.6
per cent), but is significantly lower than a decade ago (10.5
per cent in the 2005/06 survey).
Quantitative research
Programme ratings
As my programme target audience is around the age of 16-65+ then I am going to have to carefully
plan when to show my programme. By planning when the programme will be shown it will help
ensure that the programme gets the maximum of views possible. This then means I will need to do
some research to find out the best times where many people are watching television. Based on this
research I can then time my programme to be shown at that specific time.
Previous research has suggested that the media conveys a mainly negative impression
which ‘demonizes’ and ‘marginalizes’ drugs users and misrepresents drugs users, drug use and its
effects. Other UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC)
research has shown that nearly two-thirds (64%) of
adults in the UK agreed with the statement that
“People with a history of drug dependence are too
often demonised in the media”. The UKDPC therefore
commissioned the Loughborough Communications
Research Centre (LCRC), to undertake a comprehensive
and systematic study of the coverage of drug users and
drug use in print media in the UK, to improve our
understanding of the way drug users and drug use is represented in the British press. This research
involved analysing all items (over 6,000 in total) referencing drug users or drug use in eight
newspapers (representing national, regional, tabloid and broadsheet papers from across the UK) in
each of three years, 1995, 2002 and 2009.
The majority of coverage (80%) was in news reports in all years, with feature pieces mentioning drug
use or users being next most common (10%).
The use of certain drugs was more frequently mentioned than others. The majority of items involved
Class A drugs, although cannabis was the most commonly mentioned individual drug (22% of items).
News items that mentioned the health harms of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine or crack use focused on the
impact of the drug on physical health. However, news items that mentioned the harm of cannabis
use raised its mental health impacts more frequently.
Drug use rarely gets explained within newspaper coverage; reasons are only suggested in about one-
third of items. Where it does, environmental factors are most often cited.
Drug users were more likely to be condemned than empathised with in all newspapers, but were
most likely to be condemned in the tabloid press, where around a fifth of users were condemned.
The campaign Montana Meth Project and it appeared in 2005 and the advertiser is the meth project.
The message the avert states is that if you do meth, you behave in scary, immoral and dangerous
ways that you wouldn’t otherwise. The advert appeared in print and television and the ad man says:
“I can see how this would be an art directors dream. The images are stylized but also very gritty and
graphic”.
Is/was it effective? Yes. Research indicates the Project has been successful in
lowering rates of meth use. The campaign is visually striking and as Yost notes,
many of the images and videos highlighting the negative effects of meth use
come from talented filmmakers, such as Darren Aronofosky, and professional
photographers. The campaign succeeds in shocking the viewer and highlighting
the disturbing and erratic behaviour of meth users. “I don’t know if the campaign
is going to make anyone who is already using meth stop,” Yost says, “but it
certainly communicates the downsides of meth use to people who haven’t tried
it.”
Audience classification
Age
Through research I have found that often drug use starts within the teen years and science shows
that the younger a person is when starting to take drugs the more likely they are to become
addicted.
By the ages 16-17 almost 70% of high school students will have tried alcohol, half will have taken an
illegal drug, nearly 40 percent will have smoked a cigarette, and more than 20 percent will have used
a prescription drug for a nonmedical purpose.
Reasons for taking drugs can vary from young people wanting to experience new things to them
trying to deal with problems and peer pressure.
In 2003, the average age for first drug use among admissions to substance abuse treatment facilities
was 18.6 years. Among these patients, 14% started to use drugs prior to the age of 13 with
marijuana being the earliest reported drug of abuse. Looking at total admissions and the drugs used,
23% used marijuana, 9% used stimulants, 5% used opiates and 4% used cocaine prior to their 13th
birthday. Most of these underage drug users were referred to treatment programs through their
schools or the criminal justice system.
Statistics have shown that illicit drug abuse rises with age until it peaks
at those around the ages of 18 to 20 years old. After this, it decreases
steadily as people get older. In 2001, 22.4% of drug users were aged 18
to 22. Compare this to the 3.8% of 12 and 13 years and the 4.5% of those
aged 26 years and older who take illegal substances. In total, 51% of all
illicit drug users were aged 12 to 25. These numbers vary with the type
of drug though, and we can see that this age group prefers hallucinogens
and inhalants. On the other hand, drugs such as cocaine and
psychotherapeutics were used more commonly in those aged 26 and
above.
Gender
According to the 2012 Monitoring the Future Survey, illicit drug abuse is more common among
males in high school and college. Among high school children between the ages of 17-18, 9% percent
of males reported that they use marijuana daily, while less than 4 percent of females
use the drug every day. However, in younger teens 13-15, girls tend to abuse drugs
at the same rate as boys.
The 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicated that close to 12 percent
of American males age 12 and older were currently using illegal drugs, compared
with just over 7.3 percent of females in the same age group. Multi-drug use was also
more common in males than in females.
Comparative studies from the 1980s and 1990s showed that drug addiction was more common
among men than among women. In addition:
•Males are more likely to engage in binge drinking (the consumption of five or more drinks in a short
time period).
Market research
When anti-drug ads say "don't do drugs," they inherently bring up the implicit question "should I do
drugs?" The ads can draw attention to a gap in what the viewer knows about drugs, making them
more curious. It's like when you miss a call from an unknown number -- the phone ringing prompts
you to wonder "who was it?"
In the U.K., the "Talk to Frank" campaign has tried to provide a more honest, nuanced portrait of
drug use, one that encourages people to call the Frank hotline for advice. But there still isn't direct
evidence to prove that it's dissuading people from taking drugs in the first place.
"Research shows that at least half of teens are sensation-seeking. Taking chances is exciting," he
explains. "It's developmentally part of being a teenager to buck adult rules and take moderate risks."
"Drug use is implicitly seen as a way to become autonomous and independent from your parents
and everybody else," says Slater, who worked on a campaign aimed at middle schoolers called "Be
Under Your Own Influence." It tried to show kids that being stoned or drunk doesn't make you
independent or successful.
Production research
It is vital that I keep up to track of the amount of money spent, as the company and the programme
has a budget. There are three main factors that will affect the cost of the production including:
props, people and time. With these factors in mind I have created a budget of £35,000.
The locations for filming the programme will also have to be considered, depending on whether I
decide on filming in streets or local parks then no cost will be required but if I decide to film in a
different country then travel costs etc will need to be considered.
Another budget of around £100 will be needed for snacks for everyone involved within the
programme such as the crew, presenters etc.
Equipment
To conclude, I have used several different research methods including primary and secondary
research, quantitative and qualitative. These methods all helped me to find out information about
my topic of drug use. Using these methods I was able to find information such as statistics on TV
shows and what times are best for programme views. I have also found out information like what
ages are most likely to do drugs etc. by having this information I can use it to my advantage and
create a successful programme.