The moral panic that I have decided to talk about is the head shops. Head shops have been around for a very long time. They went un-noitced from the media for years. They began by selling equipment for growing cannibis plants e.g. lamps, lights, seeds etc. and some other paraphernalia related to cannabis i.e. bongs, pipes etc.This caught the attraction of some youths.
They then began to sell some “Brain Stimulants”. This started as a small selection of “legal smoke” which was a a legal high that simulated the feeling of smoking cannabis and then escalated into a big selection of pills that gave the feeling of ecstasy and products that resemble cocaine..
The media started this story in little columns within the newspaper explaining what happens with these products and how and where to get them. In turn, the media, in a way, advertised these drugs and what the do. This caught the attention of a lot of curious young people. the word about these drugs spread through the youth in Ireland. This started to create some panic and awareness.
The Head shops began to thrive as the demand sky-rocketed, Some head shops were open 24hrs a day. The mass media then brought the story to the front page of the news papers and had major stories on the news, in which they were successful in creating massive moral panic. They were extremely negative stories describing the situation as a major problem the among young people and what they are doing. This again just fueled the situation and resulted in hundreds of young people queuing up between 3-4 o clock in the early hours of a Sunday morning, creating an even bigger moral panic.
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