Marijuana as a Subculture Essay

Words: 1376
Pages: 6
Open Document
A subculture is a group of people who share a distinctive set of cultural beliefs and behaviors that differ in some significant way from that of larger society. Marijuana smokers can be considered a subculture for many reasons. Marijuana is used by millions of people around the world, either for recreational, spiritual, or therapeutic reasons. Some call themselves the cannabis connoisseurs; people who respect cannabis and use it responsibly. Few drugs have been so politicized recently as marijuana has. It is frequently praised by one side and condemned by the other, on the basis of emotional issues rather than an objective view of research.
It was 1920 when smoking began to catch on in the United States. Its recreational use was …show more content…
Their subculture has a number of beliefs that differ from mainstream society as well. One belief is that marijuana use is increasing rapidly globally and The War on Drugs is a failure. This is one of their strongest beliefs. They are very correct about both points. The unsuccessful War on Drugs is very costly, and is continuing to keep the tax rate high. A second belief is marijuana must be respected and used responsibly. Many marijuana smokers feel that teenager abuse it because they act so irresponsibly. Another strong belief is that pot is relatively less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. This is true if the facts and statistics are looked at. The last main belief is that marijuana should be decriminalized and people should be free to grow and consume it in their own homes. Part of this is true in California, the only state in which marijuana is decriminalized. People are able to smoke marijuana without the legal penalties. Marijuana users have a certain etiquette they follow. I found a list of one hundred six of these, way too many to describe. The first five of these are: 1. Thou shall not turn down a smoke, never, 2. The person who rolls the joint (no matter whose weed it is) gets to spark it and take the first hits, 3. If someone rolls a nice joint, it's good to give the person a compliment on his or her rolling skills, 4. If someone starts hogging the bowl or joint because it is their pot that is definitely not cool, 5. If
Show More

Related Documents: Marijuana as a Subculture Essay

Punk Subculture Research Paper

the people of the punk subculture is drugs and alcohol. Referring back to the topic of depression; being depressed can lead to the abuse of substances, whether it be drinking or using drugs to escape those feelings. Not only do the people of this subculture deal with this, but it also impacts the members of the bands. For example, Oli Sykes, the singer of Bring Me The Horizon, was addicted to the drug Ketamine for years. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day dealt with marijuana, alcohol, and insomnia…

Words 146 - Pages 1

History Of The Hippie Subculture

Hippie Subculture Hippies are part of a specific type of subculture called a counterculture. A counterculture is a subculture opposed to the beliefs and norms of the main culture. Hippies, sometimes called flower children, were a young middle class subculture that originated in the 1960s-1970s mostly from college campuses. They rejected the mores of American life and from that they built their own lifestyle. The Hippie lifestyle was very different than the mainstream American lifestyle in several…

Words 699 - Pages 3

Counterculture In The 1960's

The Effect of Counterculture in the 1960’s on Music Now In the 1950’s most Americans were as conforming and almost mass-produced as the Levittown homes that they lived in. Because of their parents’ inability to think on their own, their “perfect” homes formed teens who needed an outlet to rebel whether it be through music, drugs, sex, or partying. This rise of rebellion and rejection of parents’ values gave birth to a culture of hippies, beatniks, and flower children. The counterculture from the…

Words 1408 - Pages 6

long haired hippies Essay

Long Haired Hippies The hippie subculture has often been subject to a stereotyped image over the years, which started in the late 1960s.Their culture has been an object of numerous unproven legends and myths and unreasonable prejudice. Their stereotype included long hair, men with scruffy beards, draft dodging, a “make love not war” philosophy, a displeasure for hard work, and the use of mind-altering drugs and psychedelic music has often been seen from the negative side. People used to over generalize…

Words 1232 - Pages 5

Essay on Sociology notes

imagine that you have just been elected Prime Minister of Canada. Your first campaign pledge was to reduce crime. Using one or more of the sociological analytical theories, explain what policy initiatives you would favour to reduce crime levels. Remember to use sociologcal terms to explain your position. Essays will be evaluated on the quality of the discussion as it relates to the course material and grammatical skills. Analtyical theories should be clearly defined and attributed to the approriate…

Words 3287 - Pages 14

Sociological View on Deviance and Drug Use Essay

Introduction What can a sociologist tell us about deviance, and drug use that we do not already know? If there is anything distinctive about the sociologist view, it is their emphasis on social context. One of the central ideas of all human experience is meaning. Meaning is something imposed and socially made-up, and has two features: it is both external and internal. Meaning is assigned externally to objects and behavior by social cooperation. But it is also assigned by the individual…

Words 8807 - Pages 36

Essay on Psychedelics: Psychedelics, Dissociatives and Deliriants and Support Legalization

On Legalizing Psychedelics Alcohol, tobacco, and in some states now, marijuana are all substances which have been considered harmless enough to be legalized for recreational use. However, drugs like psychedelics, stimulants, narcotics, as well as many others are still on the black list. While not all of these should be legalized or even considered for legalization, some have legitimate value. When considering the properties of psychedelic drugs and their history, as well as their therapeutic value…

Words 1265 - Pages 6

Easy Rider and the Phenomenon of the 1960's Counterculture Teenpic Essay

knew right then what my life was going to be. I wanted to do that. I loved the attitude and the fun of it; there was sex, there was joy, there was everything I wanted out of life."" (Echols, Shaky Ground) Directing movies at a subculture (especially a drug subculture)…

Words 3149 - Pages 13

Sociological Imagination Meanwell

United States: Some interesting facts that I found about the United States are that we are a major consumer of ecstasy and Mexican methamphetamines as well as cocaine and marijuana. There is 51.3% of Americans who affiliate with being protestant. The life expectancy in the United States is 79.68 years, Sweden: the main religion in Sweden is Lutheran with 87% if its population afflicting with it. Sweden’s life expectancy is…

Words 1109 - Pages 5

HIppie Movement Essay

trendy, stylish, or progressive in an unconventional way, someone who is hip” (Unabridged) and it was first introduced in modern use when an article by Dorthy Killagen was published with the following sentence “New York hippies have a new kick-baking marijuana in cookies” on July 11, 1963 (Killagen). Although that was the first time, the “hippie” term was used, it was clearly used for the first time in Michael Fallon’s article “A New Haven for Beatniks” published on September 5, 1965, where he was talking…

Words 1934 - Pages 8