Cleansing Frames: How Digital ‘Consumer Reports’ of Cannabis and Psychedelics Normalise Drug-Taking and Neutralise its Counter-Cultural Potential
Sociology February 1, 2024 Isak Ladegaard 5 citations
Online drug markets blend impersonal trade with intimate user interaction. Analyzing 3,788 consumer reports of cannabis and psychedelic drugs from 2011 to 2017, the study finds that writers focus on product quality, customer service, and transaction value, while largely ignoring social, political, or counter-cultural aspects. Discussions of legality, morality, and counter-cultural ideas are entirely absent, even in reports on psychedelics that describe profound effects. This suggests that drug e-commerce normalizes banned substances, and that wider access is unlikely to spread counter-cultural views.