title: "Someone Else's Problem": New Psychoactive Substances in the Online Hungarian Media.
abstract: Media monitoring is an important method to inform public health and prevention services about emerging health issues, such as new psychoactive substances (NPS). This study assessed the portrayal of NPS in online Hungarian media in 2015 using qualitative content analysis. Hungarian online media considers the dealer to be the main cause of drug use, which is portrayed as a problem for youth, poor people, minorities, and rural populations. The point of view of the articles is externalized, and so is the solution offered by them. From the perspective of the police or using a biomedical approach, the articles suggest that drug use is an individual (someone else's) problem, and the perspectives of insiders (such as users or addiction treatment professionals) are absent. The media portrays low socioeconomic background and the hopelessness of disadvantaged rural and mostly minority populations as the roots of NPS use, and misses the pressing incapability of health care emergency and drug treatment services to cope with the problem. The dominant portrayal of police raids is rarely counterbalanced by voices of active or recovering drug users or professionals in addiction treatment and harm reduction, who could offer a systematic solution to the apparent rapid spread of NPS use.
authors.affiliation: a Doctoral student, Doctoral School of Psychology and Department of Psychology of Counseling, Institute of Psychology , Eötvös Loránd University , Budapest , Hungary.
authors.forename: Szilvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kassai
authors.affiliation: b Department Head, Department of Psychology of Counseling, Institute of Psychology , Eötvös University , Budapest , Hungary.|c Department Head, Department of Addictology , Semmelweis University , Budapest , Hungary.
authors.forename: József
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rácz
authors.affiliation: d Bachelor student, Department of Health Sciences , Semmelweis University , Budapest , Hungary.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.affiliation: d Bachelor student, Department of Health Sciences , Semmelweis University , Budapest , Hungary.
authors.forename: Tamás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bíbók
authors.affiliation: d Bachelor student, Department of Health Sciences , Semmelweis University , Budapest , Hungary.
authors.forename: Éva
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Galambvári
authors.affiliation: d Bachelor student, Department of Health Sciences , Semmelweis University , Budapest , Hungary.
authors.forename: Csillag
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kilián
authors.affiliation: e Adjunct Faculty, Faculty of Health Sciences , Semmelweis University , Budapest , Hungary.|f Adjunct Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health , Baltimore , MD , USA.
authors.forename: V Anna
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Gyarmathy
mesh_terms: D040261:Harm Reduction; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D020407:Internet; D008402:Mass Media; D016495:Police; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D011634:Public Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
keywords: Drug use; media analysis; new psychoactive substances; online journals; public health; synthetic cannabinoids