Just cuz you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you

More facts and logic from Mark Kleiman:
The methamphetamine epidemic:
Even real problems get hyped

Press skepticism about official claims regarding drug abuse is always in short supply. Insofar as Jack Shafer of Slate merely wants to encourage such skepticism, I'm on his side.

But just as even paranoids have real enemies, genuine problems are sometimes the subjects of hype. Shafer seems to believe that cultural and media criticism is a substitute for exploring the real world, and that's a bad mistake. Reciting the mantra "moral panic" doesn't make real social problems disappear...

Instead of analyzing Shafer's writings line-by-line, let me simply state the facts as they are known to people who pay attention to this set of problems for a living...

Clink on through to the original post for more.

(link via Fox Gnaws)