The marihuana phenomenon: a community at play

Abstract

The terms of reference for this thesis are to describe and define the social context of the increasing use of marihuana, referred to as the marihuana phenomenon, during the early seventies, within New Zealand. New Zealand with its two major islands, inhabited by some three million people, one thousand miles from any other main concentration of population, offered an unique laboratory for the study of the marihuana phenomenon. Using the concept of social networks, personal contact was made with 1289 marihuana users, during a period of 18 months. The study initially was centred in the country’s largest urban area, Auckland. This was followed by cross-country comparative studies. The interpretation of the phenomenon primarily depends upon the experiences of marihuana users and their expressions about these experiences. Therefore the basic tools used were quasi-participant observation within 186 marihuana networks, coupled with structured interviews in informal settings with 160 non-randomly selected users. These provided the comprehensive basic data. Reference to this data meant that models which proposed marihuana use as radically discontinuous to the everyday activities of users were set aside as being inaccurate and unhelpful. Instead a recreational model was developed. This was based upon Harvey Cox’s insights relating to the cultural components of fantasy, festivity and friendship, as well as the formal characteristics of play proposed by Johan Huizinga. The general hypothesis is that the present marihuana phenomenon is a ‘community at play’. The findings reveal that marihuana is used recreationally in New Zealand. The mind-altering effects of the drug, used generally within festal settings, contributes to the users experiencing fun. Close friendships are activated and accumulate both quantitatively and qualitatively for most users within the marihuana ‘scene’. This is the most significant factor in the proliferation of the phenomenon. These friendship networks, experiencing fun through the use of a psychotropic drug, marihuana, are shown to be a ‘community at play’. The recreational process of becoming and remaining a regular marihuana user reveals many of the characteristics of children’s games. Marihuana becomes the preferred drug used over the socially accepted drugs, alcohol and tobacco, as well as other drugs illegally obtained. The efforts of law enforcement agencies and drug education programmes are counter-productive in controlling the recreational use of the drug. With these few exceptions, marihuana users reflect the general attitudes of the overall society. In conclusion the thesis suggests that the social policy relating to the use of marihuana needs to be reconsidered. The various methods to control the use of marihuana have failed because they have not recognized that the basis of the phenomenon lies in the user’s desire for community and play activity. The resulting social harm of these methods to users and society alike implies that the hopes of marihuana users for the accurate reclassification of the drug and either its use liberalized or legalized be given serious attention by the legislators. In the meantime the evidence suggests that marihuana will be increasingly used as a recreational drug.