Getting Stoned: Marijuana Use among University Students

• In Event: Roundtable: Substance Use

Abstract

While previous scholarly research on marijuana use among university students has done well to estimate how many college students use marijuana and to identify the potential harms, little is known about the ways in which college marijuana users define their use and manage the harms of their use. The present study replicates Vander Ven’s (2011) study of the college drinking scene with the focus now turned to marijuana. Using survey and interview data, this study investigates college marijuana use as a social process with special attention to the manner in which users and co-users work together to accomplish marijuana use and to manage its effects. The data suggest student marijuana users do not perceive law enforcement detection as a significant risk. The data also reveal patterns in students’ descriptions of the etiquette rules of sharing marijuana with co-users. Students describe using these etiquette rules as a means to show they hold values that they perceive to be important to co-users, including values of fairness and mutual respect. Limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Author

• Leah Butler, University of Cincinnati