ABSTRACT

A critical component in the formation of moral panics rests on the successful construction of folk devils. The successful construction of folk devils in a moral panic has often relied on both the media and the general public vilifying those who occupy a lower social status, depicting these vilified individuals as culpable for specific social problems. This paper conducts a historical comparison between the prescription of medicinal alcohol during prohibition and the prescription of opioids during the opioid epidemic to address the question of when, and under what conditions, respected professionals get blamed for a social problem and labeled deviant. Both periods were marked by similar behavior of doctors, where some doctors prescribed these substances for profit. However, doctors during prohibition were not depicted as folk devils, nor did a moral panic ensue regarding their medicinal alcohol prescribing practices. During the opioid epidemic, pain management doctors were depicted as folk devils supporting the moral panic surrounding prescription opioids. This paper expands upon moral panics theory by demonstrating that the accessibility of folk devils influences the successful establishment of a moral panic.

摘要

道德恐慌形成的一个关键因素在于民间恶魔的成功构建。道德恐慌中民间恶魔的成功建构，往往依赖于媒体和大众对社会地位较低者的诋毁，将这些被诋毁的人描绘成对特定社会问题负有责任的人。本文对禁止期间的药用酒精处方与阿片类药物流行期间的阿片类药物处方进行了历史比较，以解决受人尊敬的专业人员何时以及在何种情况下因社会问题而受到指责并被贴上越轨标签的问题。这两个时期都以医生的类似行为为标志，一些医生开这些药物是为了牟利。然而，禁令期间的医生并没有被描绘成民间恶魔，他们的药用酒精处方做法也没有随之而来的道德恐慌。在阿片类药物流行期间，疼痛管理医生被描绘成支持围绕处方阿片类药物的道德恐慌的民间恶魔。本文通过论证民间恶魔的可接近性影响道德恐慌的成功建立，扩展了道德恐慌理论。