The Social Re-construction of Marijuana: From Illegal Substance to Legal Medicine

• In Event: 406 - Section on Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco Paper Session. Examining Addiction: Critical Perspectives (co-sponsored with the Section on Sexualities)

Abstract

For over half a century, marijuana was constructed as a harmful illegal drug with no medicinal value. The goal of this paper is to examine how community stakeholders re-construct marijuana from an illegal to a legal drug during the process of implementing medical marijuana policy. Ethnographic data were collected in 18 communities in Massachusetts, and interviews were conducted with 53 community stakeholders. Results reveal that medical marijuana patients view marijuana as medicine based on their experiences and interaction with others who used medical marijuana. Young adults accept both recreational and medicinal use, while older adults show diverse attitudes, with some fearing a gateway drug effect. Health professionals are split in their view, and law enforcement generally regards marijuana as an illegal drug. Despite the implementation of medical marijuana policy, many community stakeholders have not re-constructed marijuana as medicine and continue to view it as an illegal and stigmatized drug. For people under the control of the criminal justice system, the legal implication of using marijuana as medicine is still in flux. Future research is needed to examine how the social re-construction of marijuana use occurs in contemporary society when knowledge is accessed via social media and less through face-to-face social interaction.

Authors

• Aukje Lamonica, Southern CT State University

• Miriam W. Boeri, Bentley University