Knowledge is Power. – Cultivating Cannabis Culture

The Stigmas Surrounded By The Use Of Cannabis And The Steps We Can Take As A Society To End That Stigma.

I am going to be completely and utterly honest by saying I struggle with using Cannabis. And when I say struggle I mean I feel guilty using it. I feel like I am doing something wrong. I am terrified that if I keep using Cannabis, I’ll become a low-life druggy who only cares about being high. I am constantly questioning myself and my decisions to use Cannabis.

I am in my early 20’s, and I live on the east coast. Medical marijuana usage isn’t as widespread as it is on the west coast, especially in young patients like myself. Most people my age who use Cannabis will use it recreationally and buy their supplies from some sketchy drug dealer with shitty weed.

While my close friends and family don’t consume Cannabis, they have supported me in this journey. While I am aware that they have concerns I know that these concerns come from fear. Fear from all the lies that the government has fed to society about Cannabis. I once also believed in these lies and thought smoking weed is equivalent to doing heroin (Shoutout to the Public School American Education). It wasn’t until I took it upon myself to research everything about Cannabis. It was there where I learned I am not the only person feeling guilty about using Cannabis. There is a stigma about the usage of Cannabis that needs to be squashed so that people can use this healing plant without fear of discrimination and judgment.

A study conducted in Brazil in 2019 by the Federal University of Paraiba identified the types of stigma that is related to the use of Cannabis and the different strategies people can use to overcome this stigma.

Goffman identified stigmas as “identified impaired by social action, which represents an evil within society and should be avoided.”

The study found that there are two dimensions of stigma related to the use of Cannabis; the internal, self-stigma, and the external, which consist of 3 different types of stigmas; social stigma, structural stigma, and gender-related stigma.

Self-stigma is something I have been battling with since I started smoking weed. Self-stigma refers to the negative conceptions about one’s own behavior, in which feelings of guilt and err stand out (BOOM, this is exactly what I was talking about before).

“Social stigma describes the phenomenon of large social groups that endorse stereotypes about how to act with a stigmatized group.”

“Structural stigma refers to the rules, policies, and procedures of institutions and their representatives that resist rights and opportunities for stigmatized groups.”

“Gender-related stigma, there is more prejudice to women for using an illicit drug and for violating specific gender norms due to illegal behavior. Therefore, her gender characteristics related to the protective figure, family caregiver, and social order, as well as her socially expected behaviors, are confronted when she decides to consume a psychoactive substance, whether for therapeutic or recreational reasons. Thus, the social role of women relates to social and behavioral factors, being identified as a gender variable. Thus, gender stigma tends to be related to behavioral and social aspects attributed to men, women, and consumption of Cannabis, which portrays this use by women as a socially unexpected attitude, whether for therapeutic, recreational, or drug trafficking. In view of the above, the use of Cannabis by women was comparatively more stigmatized than men, regardless of the purpose of its use.”

So what can we do to end these stigmas? The study states that access to information is essential to deconstructing stigmas. Lack of knowledge causes scientific knowledge to be replaced by beliefs and myths that can generate prejudice. To combat stigma, there is a need for education of users, women, and professionals. Another strategy to overcome stigma is the use of empowerment through treatment groups, family conversations, avoiding situations of exposure to consumption, and participation of community groups to clarify its treatment.

Knowledge is power, and it’s how we are going to end the stigma around Cannabis.

Remember that the DEA still has marijuana listed as a schedule 1 drug. According to the DEA Schedule 1 drugs have a high potential of addiction and no medical value (which we ALL know is false about Cannabis!). According to a Rolling Stone article, “Why Is it So Hard to Study Pot,” Schedule 1 drugs require a license from the DEA to study such substances. Schedule 1 drugs that are being studied require approval from 3 federal agencies before they are able to move forward with a clinical trial. These agencies are the DEA, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Thus making it very difficult to study marijuana.

However, universities are still conducting studies under the DEA’s strict regulations and policies. If you are, a university student take advantage of your access to academic journals and look up this study as well as other studies about Cannabis.

I plan on having further discussions and posts about the stigma around Cannabis and how to break those stigmas. This was the foundation blog post, educating ourselves about stigma and the specific stigmas around the usage of Cannabis.

Below I have listed the articles and studies I found useful for this blog post. Please check them out and educate yourself.

Vasconcelos, S. C., Silva, A. O., Moreira, M. A. S. P., Correia, A. D. S. B., Guerra, A. L. A. G., Santos, A. R. D., & Frazão, I. D. S. (2017). Bioethical analysis to the therapeutic use of Cannabis: Integrative review. Nursing Ethics, 26(1), 96–104. doi: 10.1177/0969733017703699