The
use of marijuana, also known as, cannabis dates to ancient times. Cannabis’s
mind-altering impact allows people to acquire unalike perceptions. It’s this
very reason that drove cannabis’ fundamental use to mostly centralize on
religious ceremonies. Ancient cults regarded cannabis as a sacred substance
that bestowed immense awareness among its users while some utilized cannabis in
treating illnesses like nausea. However, in the 21st-century cannabis is
strictly restricted even forbidden in many places. This conflict that occurred
in different timelines raises a question that begs to be answered: Why is such
a substance once regarded sacred is now looked down upon and is forbidden?
Although such a question doesn’t have a rigid answer, lawmakers blame
marijuana’s mind-altering nature and point out the potential psychosis that may
stem from it. The majority of historians, on the other hand, argue that racial
and political matters draw marijuana’s heterodox stance. The view of marijuana
since the beginning of its illegalization is unorthodox regardless of whether
the reason is that the marijuana’s conventional portrait is drawn by its
allegedly detrimental nature or some political and racial conflicts rose from
the use of marijuana. More importantly,
such a controversial depiction of marijuana marks it with deviancy. This essay
will analyze the core but latent reasons why marijuana is considered deviant
and shall centralize on the question that follows as Does the use of marijuana
cause deviancy among its users in the 21st century? Yes, it does because
marijuana alienates the individual from society planting deviant seeds to the
individual’s demeanor and such alienation is further reinforced by its users’
inclination to have more interactions with other users forming a subculture
around marijuana.
The
use of marijuana alienates the individual from society planting deviant seeds
to the individual's demeanor. According to social bond theory, deviance mostly
emerges when the individual feels left out from society. Because marijuana is
regarded to be a dangerous and illegal substance it portrays its users as
repelling and it weakens the users' bond with society. “As a result, control theories, including
Hirschi's Social Bond Theory, seek to explain why some conform to societal
norms (Krohn & Massey, 1980). Hirschi asserted that when the social bonds
between the individual and society (Shoemaker, 1996) are lacking, deviant
behavior occurs” (Hirschi, 2013, p.235). In other words, the social bond theory
argues that weakened social bond leads the individual to become deviant because
the individual after losing contact with society does not have to obey the
arbitrary rules of society. Simply, it becomes not worthy to follow society and
marijuana draws the individual's image in society in such a repelling way that
the individual becomes alienated. Because of this alienation, the individual
acquires a tendency to have deviant behaviors.
“A person's investment in society creates bonds that make deviant acts
impossible or not worth the time.” (Hirschi, 2013, p.235). This explains how
deviant behavior is enforced through a lack of bond with society. and it is the
fundamental idea proposed by Hirschi with which he conveys his social bond theory.
Furthermore, Durkheim's contemplation carries importance in the sense that it
explains how collective consciousness (conformity) suppresses those who reject
“If the collective conscience is stronger, if it has enough authority
practically to suppress these divergences, it will also be more sensitive, more
exacting; and, reacting against the slightest deviations”(Durkheim, 1958,
p.70). Durkheim's meditation on collective consciousness and how such
consciousness is reactive against non-normative behaviors sheds a light on the
reason how the use of marijuana can cause deviancy because it is against common
consciousness. Ultimately, deviancy itself emerges from the weakened bond of
the individual, and deviancy is also further reinforced by society because society
has the tendency to alienate the outcast. Shadiya in her article “Changes over
time in marijuana use, deviant behavior and preference for risky behavior among
US adolescents from 2002 to 2014: testing the moderating effect of gender and
age.” observes that “Consider a person who begins to use marijuana regularly.
This behavior could lead to rejection by conventional peer groups and increased
association with peer groups that approve of various forms of deviance. If so,
social learning from the new group could result in other deviant behaviors, as
could weakened bonds to conventional groups” (Shadiya, 2019). Shadiya’s
observation on marijuana and its relation to deviant behavior unveils how
marijuana draws a repelling image for an individual and how such an individual
strives to find other marijuana users to form a deviant group. This can be
directly tied to the alienation idea and how alienation leads individuals to
escape from conformity and normativity.
The
use of marijuana is against the laws and rules of society and therefore against
the conformity which creates deviant behavior. The fundamental reason why the
use of marijuana is a deviant act stems from its illegality. Some even consider marijuana as a rebellious
act of symbol criticizing the arbitrary and unnecessary laws of the government
which makes it overtly a deviant act. Wayne contemplates marijuana’s image
portrayed in societies in which marijuana is mostly illegal and he asserts that
“Despite this shift toward distinctly personal rationalizations for using the
drug, it is apparent that for many people marijuana use still holds a measure
of its former symbolic value; that is, it represents certain liberal ideals or
attitudes that continue to shape their social outlooks” (Hathaway, 1997, p.219).
This reinforces the idea that smoking marijuana is a rebellious symbol alluding
to what Weber calls power, recognizing one's own will. According to Weber power
is “The chance of a man or of a number of men to realize their own will in a
communal action even against the resistance of others who are participating in
the same action” (Weber, 1946, p. 180). Simply, Weber’s definition of power
relies on the individual’s recognition of his own will against conformity.
Weber's perception of power carries utmost importance to establish that
marijuana is an opposing act against what the majority of people and government
think. Weber meditates on the idea of social honor to which he attributes the
respect and esteem one acquires through his social and political image: “For
Weber, social honour is social in nature, in that it does not automatically
result from some market or property relationship in the economic sphere but is
an expression of social relationships.” (Multiple Sources of Power – Class,
Status, and Party, 2003, p.5)Social honor can be associated with any quality
that is socially valued (positive) or is not desirable(negative). Here, weber
contemplates on what qualities make society recognize an individual and he
proposes that social honor is one of those qualities. If one does not have it,
he will receive a low level of social esteem and it will cause deviant
behavior. Because marijuana is against normativity and conformity it will cause
individuals to receive a low level of social honor leading them to deviant
behaviors. Besides, this alludes to Weber’s apprehension of power in the sense
that because society does not give importance to marijuana users’ controversial
stance, namely, their recognition of their will, marijuana users’ alienation
becomes more prominent. According to Hirschi “Weakening of social bonds frees
the individual from the constraints;“ (Hirschi, 2013, p.235) The constraints in
this quotation stands as the rules society imposed on the sheer individual
which shows that one’s salvation from the rules of society emerges when the
one’s socials bonds are damaged.
Although such salvation looks appealing on the surface, it is the
begetter of criminality and deviance which are inherently interconnected. According
to Hirschi’s study, “where social bonds are weak criminal deviancy among
Pakistani men occurs” (Hirschi, 2013, p.235). Ultimately the clash between
society and marijuana users stems from marijuana’s illegality and it is this
precise clash that casts marijuana users as outsiders or deviants.
Individuals
who are alienated from society have more tendency to use marijuana which allows
them to create their own society which further expands their deviant behaviors.
individuals who use marijuana have more tendency to interact with other users
and such interaction is the begetter of further deviance. To put it in other
words, the fact that using marijuana is rejected by society and is looked down
on leads the individuals to interact with other users because it is more
convenient and because more rewarding/worthy. Hathaway argues that “the thesis
that such behavior is contingent on the failure of controls to prevent it—has
been couched in a deviance framework that locates marijuana users within
"a subculture organized around the particular deviant activity"(Hathaway,
1997, p.215) Here deviancy's and marijuana's connection becomes prominent but
more importantly, it shows that marijuana and deviancy lead to a formation of a
subculture based on the individuals' deviant activity. Also, Hathaway touches upon
the impact of being in a deviant group and states that Following their school
years and consequent immersion in this subculture, Brown et al. (1974) argued,
young adults, will stop using marijuana as a result of their commitment to
nonstudent roles and becoming socially isolated from other users.” (Hathaway,
1997, p.215) In Hathaway’s example deviancy fades away when the individuals are
out of the place where they were mostly deviant. This illustrates the
importance of being in a deviant group. Because marijuana draws the individual
in such a deviant group, it reinforces deviant behavior, and quitting marijuana
will draw the individual out of the deviant group lessening the deviant
behaviors of the individual. This can be tied to the idea that why marijuana
users do not conform the social norms and not complying with social norms and
society leads the individual to either be alienated or form another purely
deviant group. Ultimately, marijuana itself is not enough to draw the
individual to become deviant, however, its repelling image in the face of
society sets the basis for the individual’s alienation. Such alienation then
becomes the most significant pillar of deviant groups in which the individuals
find no reasonable motive to leave their deviant shell.
Some
may claim that granted that marijuana is used discreetly and secretly, it does
not cause deviance because the user will not face society's negative reaction
which can draw the user to be alienated and be deviant. Heckert and Heckert
also contemplate this idea and asks “if individuals engage in repugnant
behavior that is not detected, are they ``deviant,'' or does a social audience
have to negatively react to the behavior (e.g., Jeffrey Dahmer before he was
detected and arrested)?” (Heckert & Heckert, 2002, p.453) Heckert answers
their own question and touches upon the importance of society’s view of what is
deviant and what is not. They accentuate parameters that construct a deviant
image and assert that “For example, killing someone may be first-degree murder,
negligent homicide, a mercy killing, or an heroic act in wartime. Without the
context of the situation, the social group within which the act occurs, and an
understanding of the group members' definitions and evaluations, it is
difficult to know what acts (or conditions) are truly deviant” (Heckert &
Heckert, 2002, p.452). The symbolic meaning behind the use of marijuana is most
important in depicting the use of marijuana as a deviant act. so, provided that
marijuana is regarded to be illegal and against normativity whether using it
discreetly or secretly does not matter because simply using it means being
deviant. This quotation puts importance on how society views concepts as
normative or not and how society's views are significant in depicting whether
something is deviant or not. This quotation reinforces the idea that marijuana
is deviant because society says so.
The
sheer use of marijuana does not hold importance in depicting the individual to
be deviant nor does the substances in marijuana draw the individual to act
deviantly. The illegality of marijuana also presents itself as a vital element
in the question that begs to be answered; Whether is the use of marijuana a
deviant act and if so why and how? the illegality of the use of marijuana portrays
marijuana to be an instrument that draws its users as deviants because, in
society's perception of this illegal substance, marijuana stands as a rebellion
picture against normativity. The fundamental basis of this question's answer
lays its roots in the theory that helps to explain how deviance occurs; Social
Bond Theory. Social Bond Theory conceptualizes the significance of social
interactions and bonds among individuals and suggests that any deficiency may
beget deviant behaviors. Lastly, it is
important to contemplate on why marijuana is illegal and how such illegality is
actually detrimental in drawing the individual out of society. Marijuana does
harm the individual's social status and begets the initiators of alienation;
however, it is vital to understand that such harm does not stem from
marijuana's anodyne nature rather it derives from its illegality. To put it
simply, Marijuana is not at fault in drawing its users as deviant, those who
made marijuana illegal are at fault.
Alex Heckert & Druann
Maria Heckert (2002) a new typology of deviance:
integrating normative and
reactivist definitions of deviance, Deviant Behavior, 23:5, 449-479, DOI:
10.1080/016396202320265319
Moss, Shadiya L et al.
“Changes over time in marijuana use, deviant behavior and preference for risky
behavior among US adolescents from 2002 to 2014: testing the moderating effect
of gender and age.” Addiction (Abingdon, England) vol. 114,4 (2019): 674-686.
doi:10.1111/add.14506
Andrew D. Hathaway (1997)
Marijuana and lifestyle: Exploring tolerable deviance, Deviant Behavior, 18:3,
213-232, DOI: 10.1080/01639625.1997.9968056
Osgood, D. Wayne, et al.
“The Generality of Deviance in Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood.” American
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www.jstor.org/stable/2095734. Accessed 29 Mar. 2021.
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& Halls, W. D. (2014). The rules of sociological method: And selected
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Zaidi, A.U., A.
Couture-Carron, and E. Maticka-Tyndale (2016). ‘Should I or Should I Not’?: an
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