The multi-billion-dollar Western pop music industry is under fire. It is being blamed by the United Nations for the dramatic rise in drug abuse worldwide. "The most worrisome development is a culture of drag-friendliness that seems to be gaining prominence (显著), "said the UN’s 13-member International Control Board in a report released in late February 1998.

The 74-page study says that pop music, as a global industry, is by far the most influential trend-setter for young people of most cultures. "Some lyrics advocate the smoking of marijuana () or taking other drugs, and certain pop stars make statements and set examples as if the use of drugs for non-medicinal purposes were a normal and acceptable part of a person’s lifestyle, "the study says.

Surprisingly, says the Board, the effect of drug-friendly pop music seems to survive despite the occasional shock of death by overdose (过量用药). "Such incidents tend to be seen as an occasion to mourn the loss of a role model, and not an opportunity to confront the deadly effect of ’recreational’ drug use," it notes. Since the 1970s, several internationally famous singers and movie stars-including Elvis Presley, Janice Joplin, John Belushi, Jimi Hendrix, Jonathan Melvin and Andy Gibbs-have died of either drug abuse or drug related illnesses. With the globalization of popular music, messages tolerating or promoting drug abuse are now reaching beyond their countries of origin. "In most countries, the names of certain pop stars have become familiar to the members of every household," the study says.

The UN study also blames the media for its description of certain drug issues-especially the use of marijuana and issues of liberalization and legalization-which encourages, rather than prs, drug abuse. "Over the last years, we have seen how drug abuse is increasingly regarded as being acceptable or even attractive," says Hamid Ghodse, president of the Board. "Powerful pressure groups run political campaigns aimed at legalizing controlled drags," he says. Ghodse also points out that all these developments have created an environment which is tolerant of or even favorable to drug abuse and spoils international drug prion efforts currently underway.

The present study, he says, focuses on the issue of demand reduction and prion within an environment that has become tolerant of drug abuse. The Board calls on governments to do their legal and moral duties, and to act against the pro-drug messages of the youth culture to which young people increasingly are being exposed.