DRUG POLICY MODELLING PROJECT MONOGRAPH 12 POPULAR CULTURE AND THE PREVENTION OF ILLICIT DRUG USE: A PILOT STUDY OF POPULAR MUSIC AND THE ACCEPTABILITY OF DRUGS Phyll Dance Alexander I Strachan Peter Deane Gabriele Bammer National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University December 2005 Drug Policy Modelling Project Monograph Series Copyright © 2005. This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without permission. Copyright enquiries can be made to Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, 54–62 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia. The Drug Policy Modelling Project Monograph Series was funded by Colonial Foundation Trust. Published by Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre Inc. December 2005 ISBN: 1 74001 173 2 The correct citation for this publication is: Dance, P., Strachan, A.I., Deane, P. & Bammer, G. (2005). Monograph No. 12: Popular culture and the prevention of illicit drug use: A pilot study of popular music and the acceptability of drugs. DPMP Monograph Series. Fitzroy: Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre. POPULAR CULTURE AND THE PREVENTION OF ILLICIT DRUG USE THE DRUG POLICY MODELLING PROJECT This monograph forms part of the Drug Policy Modelling Project (DPMP) Monograph Series. Drugs are a major social problem and are inextricably linked to the major socio-economic issues of our time. Our current drug policies are inadequate and governments are not getting the best returns on their investment. There are a number of reasons why: there is a lack of evidence upon which to base policies; the evidence that does exist is not necessarily analysed and used in policy decision-making; we do not have adequate approaches or models to help policy-makers make good decisions about dealing with drug problems; and drug policy is a highly complicated and politicised arena. The aim of the Drug Policy Modelling Project (DPMP) is to create valuable new drug policy insights, ideas and interventions that will allow Australia to respond with alacrity and success to illicit drug use. DPMP addresses drug policy using a comprehensive approach, that includes consideration of law enforcement, prevention, treatment and harm reduction. The dynamic interaction between policy options is an essential component in understanding best investment in drug policy. Stage One has: a) produced new insights into heroin use, harms, and the economics of drug markets; b) identified what we know about what works (through systematic reviews); c) identified valuable dynamic modelling approaches to underpin decision support tools; and d) mapped out the national policy-making process in a new way, as a prelude to gaining new understanding of policy-making processes and building highly effective research-policy interaction. This Monograph (No. 12) describes the work of the team at ANU in exploring the relationship between popular music and drug use. Popular culture has significant potential to influence drug prevention efforts. Popular culture represents and can create the norms and cultural milieu that can either encourage or discourage drug use. To date, there has been little systematic endeavour to study the relationships between popular culture and the milieu it creates around drugs. This pilot study concentrated on one aspect of popular culture – music. The team interviewed a small group of young people and people from the music industry to begin to explore the complex set of potential associations between music and drug use. Monographs in the series are: 01. What is Australia’s “drug budget”? The policy mix of illicit drug-related government spending in Australia 02. Drug policy interventions: A comprehensive list and a review of classification schemes 03. Estimating the prevalence of problematic heroin use in Melbourne 04. Australian illicit drugs policy: Mapping structures and processes 05. Drug law enforcement: the evidence 06. A systematic review of harm reduction 07. School based drug prevention: A systematic review of the effectiveness on illicit drug use i POPULAR CULTURE AND THE PREVENTION OF ILLICIT DRUG USE 08. A review of approaches to studying illicit drug markets 09. Heroin markets in Australia: Current understandings and future possibilities 10. Data sources on illicit drug use and harm in Australia 11. SimDrug: Exploring the complexity of heroin use in Melbourne 12. Popular culture and the prevention of illicit drug use: A pilot study of popular music and the acceptability of drugs 13. Scoping the potential uses of systems thinking in developing policy on illicit drugs DPMP strives to generate new policies, new ways of making policy and new policy activity and evaluation. Ultimately our program of work aims to generate effective new illicit drug policy in Australia. I hope this Monograph contributes to Australian drug policy and that you find it informative and useful. Alison Ritter Director, DPMP ii POPULAR CULTURE AND THE PREVENTION OF ILLICIT DRUG USE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are very grateful to the Colonial Foundation Trust for their funding of the Drug Modelling Policy Project. We also wish to thank: • The nine young people and the 13 people in the music industry who generously agreed to be interviewed. • Heather McIntyre, Elena Nobleza and Anna Olsen for assistance with recruiting people in the music industry, and those other people (who will remain anonymous) who assisted with recruitment with young people and with people in the music industry. • Helen Berry for advice on methodology for interviewing young people. • Colin Groves for proofreading. • Olivia Harkin for help with depicting the mapping of the music industry. • The O’Dea Family for giving AS food, kindness, and a roof over his head. iii POPULAR CULTURE AND THE PREVENTION OF ILLICIT DRUG USE CONTENTS Executive summary................................................................................................................1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................2 Aims.........................................................................................................................................3 Literature review.....................................................................................................................3 General methodological approach .......................................................................................5 Interviews with young people ...............................................................................................6 Methodology .............................................................................................................................................6 Recruitment ...........................................................................................................................................6 Interviews...............................................................................................................................................7 Results ........................................................................................................................................................7 Socio-demographics .............................................................................................................................7 Context and level of exposure to music............................................................................................7 Musical styles and genres.....................................................................................................................8 Music containing references to drugs................................................................................................8 Drug use.................................................................................................................................................9 Attitudes to drugs .................................................................................................................................9 Discussion................................................................................................................................................12 Interviews with people in the music industry....................................................................15 Methodology ...........................................................................................................................................15 Recruitment .........................................................................................................................................15 Interviews.............................................................................................................................................15 Results ......................................................................................................................................................16 Socio-demographics ...........................................................................................................................16 Role/s in the music industry.............................................................................................................17 Mapping the music scene – “cultural intermediaries”...................................................................22 Personal drug use................................................................................................................................25