The same old story? Continuity and change in Swedish print media constructions of cannabis

Abstract

The author would like to thank Mats Ekendahl, Alexandra Bogren, Sven-Axel Månsson and the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful insights and comments on earlier drafts of this article.

Rifts in the Hegemony: Swedish News Journalism on Cannabis Legalization

“…This overall framing of the legal sale of cannabis overlaps with the framing of cannabis in relation to rehabilitation and misuse, as seen in the subheadings quoted above, which serves to construct certain a degree of skepticism towards legalization. The focus on misuse and health concerns unveils a certain degree of domestication because it is in line with how cannabis normally is portrayed in Swedish media (Månsson 2016). In the excerpts above, one can see contrasting discourses about the health effects of cannabis, mediated by the quotations of and references to three actors: Chloe Villano, who co-owns a cannabis smokers club, Toni Fox, who runs a drug store for medical marijuana, and Chris Thurstone, associate professor in child psychiatry and assigned drug expert in the State of Colorado.…”

“…Cannabis can also be set in a discourse of political freedom, legitimizing the right of citizens to use cannabis. As research shows, specific discourses on cannabis can shape the subject-positions of the actors involved, thus who will be considered a cannabis (mis)user or an expert (Månsson 2016). Furthermore, the media discourse on cannabis is highly dependent on the sources used and the institutions that are considered relevant for framing a cannabis-related topic.…”

“…Previous research (Acevedo 2007;Månsson 2016;McGinty et al 2016) has shown that the news media coverage of cannabis tends to highlight different health risks surrounding the substance. This is also true for this study, although there are examples in which discourses constructing cannabis use as a health risk are contrasted by discourses that either refute such claims or present positive aspects of cannabis use.…”

“…It is well documented that the media puts cannabis in a context of crime when reporting on countries in which the substance is illegal, leading to a significant focus on police work and judicial discourse (Acevedo 2007;Boyd and Carter 2012;Månsson 2016). Although crime is an object that is constructed in the materials, the context of legalization allows for a different take on the relationship between cannabis and crime.…”

“…Closer to the focus of the present study, Månsson (2016) analyzed Swedish print media's reporting on cannabis in 2002 and 2012. She found that the media mainly situate cannabis in contexts of crime, social problems and health.…”