Psychedelics in the Finnish media: a comparative frame analysis of the 1960s-70s and today
Background: The use of psychedelics is on the rise worldwide with an increasing number of people experimenting and seeking benefits from their consumption. There is also more research and growing media coverage on the subject. Media plays a significant role in shaping the perception of emerging phenomena and social changes among the public. This study explores what kind of meaning frames there are in the Finnish mainstream media regarding psychedelics and has there been any changes in these media frames.
Methods: We analyzed 405 articles from the years 1960–1979 in Helsingin Sanomat, the leading daily newspaper in Finland, that mentioned psychedelic, along with 65 articles from Helsingin Sanomat and 122 articles from Yle, the national broadcasting company, from 2010 to the present, all of which referred classic psychedelics. The analysis was conducted using Goffman’s frame analysis, with the keyword “psychedelic” in the searcher performed in December 2023 and January 2024. To compare the meaning contents of the frames we employed content analysis.
Results: There is a considerable difference between the two media data sets. The focus of the news in the older material is on crime, legislation, moral panic, expert opinions, but also on a curious fascination with artists and pioneers who used psychedelics in the 1960s and 1970s. In more recent news, fear and moral panic have given way to a more curious optimism regarding both the possible treatment potential of psychedelics and self-medication with psychedelics. The general discussion about drugs and drug policy continues much the same as it has been since the 1960s. Views and positions approach drug use from the perspective of deviance, crime and addiction. The photos of the articles very often used "psychedelic imagery" both in terms of the color scheme and other clichés. In both materials, psychedelics are discussed both in the framework of crime and illegality, but also in the framework of fascination and the arts. There is also a difference in the frames for different psychedelics.
Conclusions: The socio-cultural of psychedelics in Western countries is under scrutiny. Media frames them partly as medicine and as a potential form of treatment instead of illicit drug use. In this case, one may consider whether voluntary use is drug use or self-medication, and how the phenomenon should be socially perceived.
