Progression

P1: Intro
The stereotypes many of us have of drug use and drug users is very negative and is looked at as a crime, highly dangerous and the homeless people you see on your way to work. If drug use is included in newspapers or magazines, it will most likely go something like this, “16 YEAR OLD GIRL DIES AFTER TAKING ECSTACY AT A PARTY.” Scare mongering is easier for the media to do than realistically educate their audience about drugs, something that should be talked about more and feared less.

P2: Media stereo typing

P3: Drug Culture

From hippies in the 60’s using LSD and cannabis, to the 90’s rave era using ecstasy and MDMA, drug use has always been frowned upon yet makes a statement genre from decade to decade. The Beatles, Elvis, the moon landing and Martin Luther King are all great marks in history made in the 1960’s, however there was also a diverse movement made during this time, one that was controversial but revolutionary. You’ve probably heard the phrase “Peace and love man” before from that stoned guy in an American movie, but this was actually the theme of counterculture, in which young adults across the UK and USA encouraged women’s rights, human sexuality, a different interpretation for the American dream and experimentation with psychedelic drugs. Today, this dynamic sub culture has become the face of this 60’s, although at the time this group were referred to as “society’s dropouts”. Experimentation with drugs was an important fragment of this movement as the group stated that it helped become one with the universe and explore your own mind; popular drugs of this era consisted of LSD, marijuana, magic mushrooms and others in order to hallucinate. Although drug use was still frowned upon during this time, this applied a brand new meaning and outlook on the topic, relating more to spirituality and exploring inner consciousness.

LSD: Also referred to as acid, this isn’t something to take if you are anything less than 100% sure about it, as nervousness beforehand can lead to a “bad trip”. WHAT TO EXPECT: Hallucinations, hearing colours and seeing sounds, distorted perceptions.

P3: 90’s Rave

As a genre, rave has existed since the 1960’s, but the 90’s presented acid house, neon fashion and warehouse raves.