The world we live in seems to be glorifying the use of drugs across several industries. Even though using drugs is highly risky, expensive, and leads to potential long term addiction, thousands of people are influenced by popular pop stars and rap legends that grace our music charts. In fact, the music industry’s approach to substance abuse is only leading more vulnerable people to become addicted. Radio played songs that discuss heavy Xanax abuse, drinking “purple”, popping pills, and smoking weed come at a price. Anyone has the right to listen to whatever music they want, but if they actually start acting on what the songs are encouraging, they could be influenced to partake in the same activities in the future. Let’s look at the role music figures play in our society’s rates of addiction and drug stigma overall.
Drug Stigma In Music
Throughout the past 15 years, controlled and addictive substances mentioned in the lyrics of various pop, rock, and rap songs have dramatically increased in frequency. It would almost be difficult to find any rap song today in particular that doesn’t include some type of drug or alcoholic beverage mentioned. As drugs like marijuana skyrocketed in the early 1990s to social popularity and is now becoming more accepted, many don’t stop and think about the repercussions certain lyrics can have on our youth today. In addition to marijuana, a study conducted in 2013 found that drugs like “lean”, “sirrup”, “purple”, “drank” and “henny” are exponentially being mentioned more in songs since their pop culture appearance in the 1980s.
For some people, this growth may not be quite alarming, since rap tends to be correlated to individuals who live aggressive lifestyles. While the genre of rap doesn’t deserve to be stereotype many rappers have been charged guilty of drug abuse or possession such as Lil B, Lil Wayne, Lil Durk, and more recently younger newcomers like Fetty Wap and Chief Keef. All rappers are widely popular among teens and college students who regularly play their music and quote lyrics from their songs as a joke. I, for one, was a huge Fetty Wap fan during college because of the catchy beats and laid back melodies he produced. Although I was aware of his mentions of drugs, I made the mistake of not thinking about how constant exposure to that ideal could sway my own beliefs over time. What could start as a joke or a slang term can eventually lead to someone slowly accepting the use of a drug and eventually using it during their own time.
Music’s Substance Abuse
While some of us have possibly tried drugs at some point in time, the majority of everyday people are not struggling with a potentially life threatening substance abuse problem. As for the rich and famous, drug related injuries, assault cases, and fatal overdoses are happening more times every year. Beloved names like Mac Miller, Avicii, and Lil Peep have all suffered the consequences of their substance abuse within the past year. What’s sad is that all of these people have shown the world that they have incredible talent, a joy for entertaining others, and communicating amazing stories with their music. Lil Peepin particular had a highly loyal fan base that consistently supported all of his projects. While they knew he routinely rapped about his drug use, it wasn’t long after releasing songs that mentioned hearing voices in his head to quit, finding bottles of Xanax by his bed, and taking the drug to fall back to sleep midday that he passed away.
However, the popularity and almost expectation for musicians to turn to drugs created an unhealthy outlet for them to let go of their biggest stress issues. Maybe one of them felt that drugs were the only method of receiving inspiration for creating their next big hit. Maybe they felt scared of the judgement that could come from other celebrities who heavily encourage drug use. Either way, it’s important to know that musicians create songs for many different reasons and their promotion of a certain ideal doesn’t necessarily make it cool. Please don’t try a drug that you don’t know anything about because it looked thrilling or “out of this world” in your favorite music video.
Learning About Types of Drugs
With all the outlets that are promoting drug use or misinforming the public these days, it’s crucial to know the true facts for yourself before you or anyone you know gets hurt. Drugs can cause a variety of different physical reactions, withdrawal effects, and risk for addiction. Luckily, we live in an age where we can access information on almost anything we want. The best way to learn about the similarities and differences between popular drugs like marijuana, Xanax, cocaine, or other substances is to use a drugs glossary. Instead of spending hours to look up facts about each drug individually, you might as well save your time with the glossary. It works as an efficient tool to pinpoint the drug you want to research on and find a summary about its effects on our body. A drugs glossary will include information on almost every drug known to health experts, so you are guaranteed to find what you are looking for.
Moving Forward
Life is all about enjoying yourself, working hard to reach our goals, and making impactful connections with others. Don’t let the pull of substance abuse get in your way of that responsibility, even if you favorite musicians seem to rave about its effects. You’ll sleep more soundly at night knowing that you are not putting your life at risk for the sake of a two or three hour high. The choice is yours!
