Popular Mislabeling of Recand Cultural Lag: The Case of Psilocybin and E-cigarettes.

• In Event: Understanding Drug and Violent Offenders

Abstract

This paper will explore how and more importantly why psilocybin and electronic cigarettes (“e-cigarettes”) are commonly portrayed, in the mass media and elsewhere, as something that they are not. Using Ogburn’s theory of cultural lag the paper will explore why these items are commonly equated with things that they are not: Psilocybin, as Schedule I drug in the United States, is commonly portrayed as “magic mushrooms” when referencing laboratory studies during which the drug is ingested in a pill form. And the term “e-cigarette” is a misnomer since e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco and, when they are used, nothing is burned, rather, a chemical vapor is created which is inhaled by the user. Thus these newer and not-as-well-known products have become falsely equated with items that are more widely known. This labeling practice misleads the reader about the true characteristics of these items. This may have policy implications.

Author

• Colin Wark, Texas A&M University-Kingsville