Running head: STONER OR CANNABIS ENTHUSIAST?

Stoner?Ipreferthetermcannabisenthusiast
ErinFleming
UniversityofKentucky

STONER OR CANNABIS ENTHUSIAST?

Abstract
Thisstudyaddressesadvocatesofmarijuana.FromtheresearchIconductedIfoundthelabelof
astonercarriesassumptionsthroughoutsocietythatarenegativelylookedupon.These
stereotypesarefalselyportrayedworldwideforthisindividualizedgroup.Thisgroupdoesnot
sticktocertaincustomsrathertheypertaintotheirownbeliefs.However,thisgroupconnects
withoneanotherthroughthebeliefthatmarijuanapositivelyaffectsourworld.Furthermore,the
majorityofthisgroupadvocatestheuseofmarijuanabecauseofitshealthbenefitsanditsability
toboosttheeconomy.Inaddition,thelegalizationofmarijuanaisbelievedtohelpcarryout
thesepositiveeffectsworldwide.Somemembersofthisgroupdonotsmokemarijuanahowever,
theyadvocatemarijuanabecauseofthepositiveaspectsitoffers.Controversially,insociety
therearepeoplethatsmokemarijuanasolelytogethigh,ignoringthepositiveaspects
marijuanahastooffer.Positiveandnegativesmokersdifferinregardstotheirendgoalsfor
marijuanause.Conclusively,thepositivegroupconsistsofpeoplethathavetheabilitytoforesee
thenegativeeffectsofthisdrugdecreasingandthepositiveaffectsincreasing.
Keywords:Advocates,Marijuana,Stereotypes,HealthBenefits,Economy

STONER OR CANNABIS ENTHUSIAST?

Stoner?IPrefertheTermCannabisEnthusiast
Marijuanaisamixtureofdriedleaves,flowers,stems,andseedsfromthehempplant
Cannabissativa.ThisisthemostillicitdrugusedintheUnitedStates(DrugFacts:
Marijuana,2014).Thisdrughasbeenincreasingamongstyoungadultsandteenagerssince
2007.Thisshowsthedifferentiationinmarijuanausebetweenthepastgenerationstothecurrent
generations.Insocietytoday,marijuanahasbecomeverycontroversial.Severalstateshave
legalizedmarijuanawhileothersarestillengagedinthelegalizationdebate.Specificstates
wheremarijuanaislegalcontainhighlypopulatedgroupsthatadvocatetheuseofmarijuana.
Sinceoursocietyisbecomingsoacceptingofotherculturesandbeliefs,Idecidedtodoresearch
onadvocatesofsmoking,acontroversialdrug,marijuana.Inordertograspthebasicconceptsof
thisgroup,Iconductedonlineresearch.Ifurtheredmyresearchthroughinterviewingadvocates
ofthisgroup.Iinterviewedamaleandafemaletoseeifthesegenderdifferencesaffectedtheir
opinionsandbeliefs.AfterIinteractedwiththesetwopeople,Iwasabletounderstandtheirway
oflifewhileovercomingseveralstereotypes.Mostimportantly,Ilearnedtheexactreasonswhy
thisgroupsupportsandusesmarijuana.FromtheresearchIconducted,Iconcludethatthe
stereotypeforthisgroupisfalselyportrayedinsociety.Inaddition,positivemarijuanause
includesmedicalandeconomicalbenefits.

STONER OR CANNABIS ENTHUSIAST?

Inpastgenerationsofsociety,advocatesofthedrugmarijuanaareviewedaslowclass,
slow,confusedpeople.Theyarenotonlyassociatedwith
violenceandcrimesbutalsowithdirtyandtrashy
physicalappearances,asshowninthepicturetotheright.
Thisspecificgroupofpeopleistypicallyknownas
stoners(Seshata,2013).Thislabelcarriesallofthe
assumptionsandjudgmentsthatareassociatedwithusers
ofmarijuana,tothemoderndayworld.Stereotypesare
basedoffpreviousknowledgeinfluencedbytheparental
styleexperiencedasachild.Thereforjudgments,
assumptions,evenprejudicelabelsareextremelyhardtoovercome.However,Iovercamemy
previousstereotypeofastonerintosomethingmoreaccurateinthemoderndayworld.Based
offoftheinterviewsIconducted,Ilearnedthisgrouplooks,acts,andmostimportantly,
prioritizesjustlikepeopleoutsideofthisgroup(I.Fleming,personalcommunication,October
6th,2014).Eachindividualinthisgroupdiffersintheirownway.Thereisnotonestyle,belief,
religion,etc.thattheysticktoo.Specificclassificationsandqualificationsrequiredinother
culturalgroupssimplydonotexistinthisspecificgroupofpeople.Ifoundthatitiscommonto
knowsomeoneonafirstnamebasissuchasacoworker,boss,orevenstudent,andnotknow
theybelongtothiswayoflife(M.Kleeman,personalcommunication,October7th,2014).This
canbeahardrealizationtograspbecauseofthewaythisgrouphasbeenportrayedthroughout
themainstreamofsociety.Advocatesofsmokingweedaregenerallyveryopenmindedpeople
thattendtosticktotheirindividualbeliefs.OutofcuriosityandeagernessIresearcheddeeper

STONER OR CANNABIS ENTHUSIAST?

intothepassionandlogicbehindthisgroupsbeliefs.Ifoundthatthemajorityofthisgroupare
notadvocatesofsmokingweedbecausetheyonlyenjoytherelaxationofthehigh,butalso
becauseofitsscientificallyprovenhealthbenefits,anditsabilitytoboosttheeconomy.These
specificreasonsarehiddenbehindthestereotypicalvaluesbroughtontothisgroup.Alarge
componentofthismiscommunicationamongstoursocietyisduetothemedia.Furthermore,the
mediaplaysabigroleinstressingandexaggeratingmisconceptionsofseveralgroupstothe
outsideworld.Itmakesyouwonder,howmanyothergroupsareportrayedinaccuratelythrough
themediatoday?
Through this communication in the media, a well-known drug, Marijuana, is becoming
very controversial globally due to its apparent health benefits. The photo below is an example of
different protesters expressing their beliefs on medical marijuana. The legalization process of this
drug is currently in effect amongst several states (23 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC,
2012). In certain states, particularly Colorado, medical use of marijuana, since November 7th in
the year 2000, is legal to anyone suffering from debilitating medical conditions. Colorado
recently passed a bill legalizing
medical marijuana treatment.
According to the Article XVIII, this
will allow medical marijuana
treatment to anyone that suffers from
these following conditions:
cachexia; severe pain; severe
nausea; seizures, including those that are characteristic of epilepsy; or persistent muscle spasms,
including those that are characteristic of multiple sclerosis; or (III) Any other medical condition,

STONER OR CANNABIS ENTHUSIAST?

or treatment for such condition, approved by the state health agency.(ARTICLE XVIII Miscellaneous Art. XVIII Miscellaneous, 2000) On the contrary, some may disagree with the
health benefits medical marijuana has to offer. This is what separates advocates of smoking weed
from the rest of society. As an outcast from this group I wanted to engage with credible
resources written from a doctor that provided proof of these positive and negative health benefits
marijuana apparently offers. In 2009, researchers at Complutense University in Spain, found that,
THC an active component of marijuana has anti-cancer effects on human brain cancer
cells(para. 5). They found that THC provoked the death of cancer cells within the brain. This
process is known as autophagy(Velasco, 2009). The researches found this conclusion through
first carrying out tests amongst rat brains with brain cancer, to then testing it on humans that
suffer from the same brain cancer. Upon analysis, both the mice and human brains showed
similar signs of autophagy. Furthermore, Dr. Peter McCormick (2014), from UEA's School of
Pharmacy said, THC, the major active component of marijuana, has anti-cancer
properties(para.5). This compound is known to act through a specific family of cell receptors
called cannabinoid receptors (McNamee, 2014). These reliable sources provide medical
assurance that medical marijuana does serve a purpose. The more I learned about the positive
aspects of medical marijuana the more I realized the reasoning behind the strong beliefs these
advocates obtain. This group is so passionate in marijuana because they strongly believe in the
positive aspects this drug has to offer.
Learningaboutthepositiveeffectsmarijuanahasonthebodysparkedmyinterestinthe
negativeeffectsmarijuanacancause.InoticedintheinterviewsIconducted,therewaslittle
mentioningofthenegativeaspectsmarijuanahasonthebody.WhenIasked,Iftheythink
marijuanaisharmfultothebody?theonlyresponseIgotwas,Ifyouaresmokingeveryhour

STONER OR CANNABIS ENTHUSIAST?

ofeverydayIfeelthat,overall,itwilljustmakeyoubeslower,Imeantoomuchofanythingis
notgoodgroup(I.Fleming,personalcommunication,October6th,2014).Thisvagueresponse
motivatedmetofindreliableresearchonthenegativesideeffects.AccordingtotheNational
Instituteondrugeffects,earlyuseofthisdrugcanaffectbraindevelopment.Specifically,it
impactsareasofthebrainthatareresponsibleforlearningandmemory.Thisinformationdidnot
shockmebecauseofpersonalobservationsIhavemadefromthisgroupinthepast.Ihave
noticedovertimethedecreaseinmemorysmokingmarijuanacausestoyoungteens.Knowing
bothofthesesideeffectsaretrue,Ihaveahardtimeunderstandingwhythisdrugissopopularin
teensespeciallysincethisgroupcanseverelysufferfromtheselongtermeffects.Marijuananot
onlyhasnegativesideeffectsonthebodybutitalsocannegativelyinfluencesomeoneintothe
drugworld,alsoknownasagatewaydrug.Iknewmarijuanawasknowntobeagatewaydrug,
sothatiswhyImadesuretoaddressitinmyinterview.Surprisinglyenoughoneofthe
interviewersopinionsonmarijuanabecomingagatewaydrugmatchesthetheoryfromthearticle
Whatismarijuana?whichstatesthatsomeonewhousesmarijuanaismorepronetocomingin
contactwithadrugdealer(WhatisMarijuana?,n.d.).Thisinteractionopenstheopportunityto
experimentingwithotherdrugs.Ithoughtitwasinterestingthatmyinterviewsandobservations
stressedthesameconceptthatmarijuanacanexposepeopletootherdrugs,specificallyyoung
teens.However,theintervieweebelievedthatthisinteractionbetweenadrugdealeranduser
onlyoccursbecausemarijuanaisillegal.Thissuggeststhatifmarijuanabecamelegalizedthen
thisproductwouldbeboughtthroughgovernmentapprovedshops.Itsimportanttonoticethis
groupwasntonlytalkingaboutthepositiveeffectsmarijuanahasbutalsothenegativeeffects
thatcanoccur.Bothinterviewerswillinglyexplaineddifferentwaysthisdrugcanbecomeunsafe

STONER OR CANNABIS ENTHUSIAST?

resultinginagatewaydrug.Eventhoughtheymentionedthedangermarijuanacancausedueto
theillegalization,theyalsomentionedhowitcanberesolvedthroughlegalization.Thisopinion
sticksoutasaseparatorofdifferinggroups.Advocatesofmarijuanaseeboththepositive,and
negativeeffectsofthisdrugbutwhatdiffersthemfromothersinsocietyistheirabilitytoforesee
thesenegativeeffectsdecreasing,followingthelegalizationofthedrug.
Activatesofsmokingmarijuananotonlywanttolegalizeweedworldwidebecauseofthe
healthbenefitsitobtainsbutalsobecauseoftheeconomicalgrowthitcancause.Inordertolearn
aboutthiseconomicalgrowth,Iresearchedintothestatethatlegalizedmarijuana,Colorado.As
expectedIfoundthatwellregulated,taxedmedicalmarijuanacanboosttheeconomiesgrowthin
numerousaspects(EconomicBenefitsofRegulation,2014).Sincethelegalizationin2000,the
demandformarijuanaexceedstheearlierestimates.Themarijuanapolicygroup,Colorados
departmentofrevenuestatesthat,Ourpointestimateofdemandis121.4tonsperyearforadult
residents.Thisis31percenthigherthanarecentDepartmentofRevenueassessment,89percent
higherthanastudybytheColoradoFuturesCenter,and111percenthigherthananolderstudy
bytheColoradoCenterforLawandPolicy(ARTICLE XVIII - Miscellaneous Art. XVIII
Miscellaneous, 2000, para.II). Itisimportanttonoticethatthemajorityincreaseindemandof
marijuanaistheoutcomeofresidentialusers,notmedicalusers.Mostimportantly,thisrisein
demandguidesthepathtoeconomicalgrowth.Thedepartmentofrevenuealsofoundthatthe
ratiofrommedicaltoretailconsumptionisverylow.Thismeanstheretailsupplyofmarijuanais
increasingwhilethemedicalsupplyofmarijuanaremainssteady.Thisledthedepartmentof
revenuetobelieve,thatthisincreaseinretailistriggeredbyseveraloutofstatevisitors.These
statisticsimplythatColoradomakesmoremoneyfromrecreationalmarijuanathenmedical

STONER OR CANNABIS ENTHUSIAST?

marijuana.Advocatesofmarijuanaseetheseeffectsontheeconomy,whichiswhytheyarenot
onlysupportersoflegalizedmedicalmarijuanabutalsosupportersoflegalizedrecreational
marijuana.Withthisincreaseinsupplyofmarijuana,jobopportunitiesarise.Theseadditional
jobscanincludepositionsatdispensaries,labworkersassessingproductsafety,and
horticulturistsmaintainingtheplants.DaleGieringer(1994).Dale,thecoordinatorofCalifornia
NORML(NationalOrganizationfortheReformofMarijuanaLaws)andcofounderofthe
CaliforniaDrugPolicyReformCoalition,statedthatthiswouldalsoimmenselyincreasethe
needofparaphernalia.Inaddition,thislegalizationwouldauthorizeandsupporttheagriculture
ofhemp(para.8).Healsostatedthathempisaversatilesourceoffiber,protein,biomassand
oil,whichwasonceoneofAmericastopcrops(Gieringer,1994,para.9).Meaninghempwill
beinhighdemand,resultinginanincreasedincomeforthestate.Afterlearningthereasoning
behindthesegroupsbeliefsIunderstoodthatbeinganadvocateofmarijuana,forthemajorityof
peopleinthisgroup,involvesmuchmorereasoningandpassionthenIeverimagined.Marijuana
hasthepotentialtovastlyimprovetheeconomicgrowthofnotonlythefewlegalizedstates,but
oftheentireUnitedStates.Profitfrommarijuanausagehastheabilitytoincreasetheeconomy
fornotonlyadvocatesofmarijuana,butforpeopleoverall.Thisiswhyadvocatesofthisdrug
standoutfromothersinsocietybecausetheyseethepositiveoutcomesitcouldbringtothe
UnitedStatesasawholeandthepotentialitholds.Thisgroupsdesiretolegalizemarijuanaisnot
toabusethedrugbutrathertogainacceptanceofitspositiveaffectsonourworld.
Duringthisprocessofresearchingthisgroupsbeliefs,Iwasstumpedontheideaofwho
necessarilybelievesinthesepositiveaspectsofmarijuanaandwhojustusesmarijuanatoget
high?Themediaportrayssmokingmarijuanaassomethingtoabuse.Forinstances,inmusic

STONER OR CANNABIS ENTHUSIAST?

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videos,songs,TVshows,marijuanaisusedonlytogethigh.Iwasunsureonhowtoexactly
figurethisoutotherthendirectlyaskingoneofmyinterviewees.FromwhatIfound,the
majorityofpeoplewhosmokemarijuanabelieveinthepositiveeffectsmarijuanahasonhealth
benefitsandtheeconomy.However,therearealsosomepeoplewhodontpayattentiontothese
positiveeffects.Asmentionedbeforenoteveryonethatactivelysmokesweedstickstoacertain
belief,itisopentotheirindividualbeliefs.Peoplecanbelongtothisgroupthroughdifferent
waysfurtheringwhatMarciKleemansaidinherinterview.Marcitalkedabouthowdifferent
peopleinherhorticultureclassofallagescametoColorado,specificallytostudymarijuana,in
hopesofopeningabusinessusingthisproduct.Itsimportanttonoticesomeofthesepeoplein
Marcisclasssmokemarijuanaandothersdidnot.Ifoundthattherearemorepeoplethat
advocatesmokingweedbecauseofitsstrongpositiveeffectsontheworldversuspeoplethatuse
itjusttogethigh.Bothofthesedifferentbeliefsexistinsociety.Ihowever,specificallytook
interestinthepeoplethatadvocatedsmokingmarijuanaforthepositiveaspectsversusthepeople
thatuseittojustgethigh.Justlikecollectivegroupsofanyothersubject,usersofmarijuana
reasonsforsmokingdifferentiates.Thoughitisapparentthatsomesmokersdoitjustforthe
high,myresearchstronglysupportsthecommonthemeamongusersthattheysmokeitforthe
variouspositiveaffectsthatadvocatesseeinthedrug.
Advocatesofsmokingmarijuanagobytheirindividualbeliefs.Theonethingthese
participantsshareincommonisthebeliefofthepositiveeffectsthisdrughasonourworld
today.Thestereotypesassignedtothisgroupovertimeareinaccurateforthemajorityofthese
advocates.Thisgroupofpeoplestrivetobetteroursocietyworldwide.Intheireyes,inorderto
accomplishthis,thelegalizationofmarijuanawillneedtotakeplace.Theideathatallpeople

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whosmokeweedparticipatesolelybecauseofthesepositiveeffectsithasonsocietyis
unrealistic.However,basedoffmyresearchthemajorityofthepeopleinthisgroupstrongly
believethelegalizationwillpositivelybenefitsocietybecauseofitshealthandeconomic
benefits.

Resources
ArticleXVIIIMiscellaneousArt.XVIIIMiscellaneous.(2000).Retrievedfrom
http://www.colorado.gov
Gieringer,D.(1994).Revenuesfromlegalization.Retrievedfrom
http://norml.org/library/item/revenuesfromlegalization
HalyconOrganics.(2014).Economicbenefitsofregulation.Retrievedfrom
https://halcyonorganics.com/economicbenefitsofregulation/
McNamee,D.(2014).Furtherevidencethatcannabisreducestumorgrowthinnew
study.Retrievedfromhttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/279571.php
NationalInstituteonDrugAbuse.(2014).Drugfacts:Marijuana.Retrievedfrom
http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
NationalInstituteonDrugAbuse.(n.d.).Whatismarijuana.Retrievedfrom
http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drugfacts/marijuana
Pangburn,E.(2013).10commonstonerstereotypes.Retrievedfromhttp://stonerthings.com/10
commonstonerstereotypes/
ProCon.org.(2012).23legalmedicalmarijuanaStatesandDC.
Retrievedfromhttp://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
Rosenberger,H.(2014).Searchingfornaturalcures:Thepowerofmedicalmarijuana.Retrieved
fromhttp://wellpowerblog.com
Seshata.(2013).Thestonerstereotype:breakingdownthemisconceptions.Retrievedfrom
http://sensiseeds.com/en/blog/thestonerstereotypebreakingdownthemisconceptions/
Velasco,G.(2009).Anticancereffectsinactivecomponentofmarijuana.Retrievedfrom
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/144770.php

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