Becoming a Marihuana User Source: The American Journal …

1 Becoming a Marihuana user Author(s): Howard S. Becker Source: The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Nov., 1953), pp. 235-242. Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: . Accessed: 27/02/2011 13:46. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a Journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission.

2 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The American Journal of Sociology. Becoming A Marihuana user *. HOWARD S. BECKER. ABSTRACT. An individualwill be able to use marihuanaforpleasureonly when he (1) learnsto smokeit in a way thatwillproducerealeffects;(2) learnsto recognizetheeffectsand connectthemwithdruguse; and (3) learns to enjoythe sensationshe proposition,based on an analysisoffifty interviewswithmarihuana users,calls into question theorieswhich ascribe behavior to antecedentpredispositionsand suggeststhe utilityof explainingbehaviorin termsof the emergenceof motivesand dispositionsin the courseof experi- ence.

3 The use ofmarihuanais and has beenthe thatthepresenceofa givenkindofbehavior focusofa gooddeal ofattentionon thepart is the resultof a sequenceof social experi- of both scientistsand of the ences duringwhich the personacquires a major problemsstudentsof the practice conceptionof themeaningof thebehavior, have addressedthemselvesto has been the and perceptionsand judgmentsof objects identification of thoseindividualpsycholog- and situations,all ofwhichmake theactiv- ical traits which differentiate Marihuana itypossibleand ,themotiva- usersfromnonusersand whichare assumed tionor dispositionto engagein theactivity to accountfortheuse of ap- is builtup in thecourseoflearningto engage proach,commonin the studyof behavior in it and does not antedate this learning categorized as deviant,is basedon theprem- sucha viewit is not necessary ise thatthepresenceof a givenkindof be- to identify those"traits"which"cause" the havior in an individualcan best be ex- ,theproblembecomesone plainedas theresultofsometraitwhichpre- of describingthe set of changesin the per- disposesor motivateshim to engagein the son's conceptionof the activityand of the behavior.

4 ' experience it This studyis likewiseconcernedwithac- This paperseeksto describethesequence countingfor the presenceor absence of ofchangesin attitudeand experience which marihuanause in an individual'sbehavior. lead to theuse of marihuanafor pleasure. It starts,however,froma different premise: Marihuanadoes not produceaddiction,as $ Paper read at the meetingsof the MidwestSo- do alcoholand theopiatedrugs;thereis no ciological Society in Omaha, Nebraska, April 25, withdrawalsickness and no ineradicable 1953. The researchon whichthis paper is based was cravingfor the most frequent done whileI was a memberof the staffof the Chi- patternof use mightbe termed"recrea- cago NarcoticsSurvey,a studydone by the Chicago tional."The drugis usedoccasionally forthe Area Project,Inc., undera grantfromthe National Mental Health Institute.

5 My thanks to Solomon pleasure the user findsin it, a relatively Kobrin,Harold Finestone,HenryMcKay, and An- casual kindofbehaviorin comparison with selmStrauss,who read and discussedwithme earlier that connectedwith the use of addicting versionsof thispaper. term"use forpleasure"is meant ' See, as examplesofthisapproach,the following: to emphasizethenoncompulsive and casual Eli Marcovitz and Henry J. Meyers, "The Mari- huana Addictin the Army,"War Medicine,VI (De- 2 This approachstemsfromGeorgeHerbert cember,1944), 382-91; HerbertS. Gaskill, "Mari- Mead's discussion ofobjectsin Mind,Self,andSo- huana, an Intoxicant,"AmericanJournalofPsychia- ciety(Chicago:University ofChicagoPress,1934), try,CII (September,1945), 202-4; Sol Charen and pp. 277-80. Luis Perelman,"PersonalityStudies of Marihuana 3Cf. RogerAdams," Marihuana ," Bulletinofthe Addicts," American Journal of Psychiatry,CII New YorkAcademy of Medicine,XVIII (Novem- (March, 1946), 674-82.)

6 Ber,1942),705-30. 235. 236 THE American JOURNALOF SOCIOLOGY. is also meantto froma varietyof social backgroundsand eliminatefromconsideration herethosefew presentpositionsin societyconstitutethe cases in whichmarihuanais used for its data fromwhichthegeneralization was con- prestigevalueonly,as a symbolthatoneis a structedand againstwhichit was certainkindof person,withno pleasureat The interviews focusedon thehistoryofthe all beingderivedfromits use. person'sexperiencewiththe drug,seeking The analysispresentedhereis conceived majorchangesin his attitudetowardit and ofas demonstrating thegreaterexplanatory in his actual use of it and the reasonsfor usefulnessof the kind of theoryoutlined finalgeneralization is a above as opposed to the predispositional statement ofthatsequenceofchangesin at- theoriesnow may be seen in titudewhichoccurredin everycase known two ways.

7 (1) predispositionaltheories to me in whichthepersoncameto use mari- cannot account for that group of users huana negativecase is (whoseexistenceis admitted)4who do not found,it may be consideredas an explana- exhibitthe trait or traits consideredto tionofall cases ofmarihuanause forpleas- cause the behaviorand (2) such theories addition,changesfromuse to nonuse cannotaccountforthegreatvariability over are shownto be relatedto similarchangesin timeof a givenindividual'sbehaviorwith conception, and in each case it is possibleto reference to samepersonwill explainvariationsin theindividual'sbehav- at one stage be unable to use the drugfor ior in theseterms. pleasure,at a laterstagebe able and willing This paper coversonlya portionof the to do so, and, stilllater,again be unableto natural historyof an individual'suse of use it in ,difficult to Marihuana ,7 starting withthepersonhaving explainfroma predispositional or motiva- arrivedat the point of willingnessto try tionaltheory,are readilyunderstandable in knowsthatothersuse it to termsofchangesin theindividual'sconcep- "get high,"but he does notknowwhatthis tionof thedrugas is the existenceof "nor- is curiousabout mal" users.

8 Theexperience, ignorant ofwhatit mayturn The studyattemptedto arriveat a gen- out to be, and afraidthat it may be more eralstatement ofthesequenceofchangesin thanhe has steps out- individualattitudeand experiencewhich lined below,if he undergoesthemall and have always occurredwhen the individual maintainsthe attitudesdevelopedin them, has becomewillingand able to use mari- leave himwillingand able to use the drug huana forpleasureand whichhave not oc- forpleasurewhentheopportunity presents curredor notbeenpennanently maintained itself. whenthisis not the case. This generaliza- tionis statedinuniversaltermsinorderthat negativecases may be discoveredand used The novicedoes not ordinarily get high to revisetheexplanatory the time first he smokes Marihuana , and sev- Fifty interviews with Marihuana users eral attempts are usually necessary to in- I duce this explanation ofthis may Kolb," Marihuana ,"FederalPro- that the is not smoked "properly,".

9 Bation, II (July,1938),22-25;andWalterBromberg, be drug " Marihuana :A Psychiatric Study,"Journalofthe thatis, in a way thatinsuressufficient dos- American MedicalAssociation,CX:I (July1,1939), age to producereal symptomsof intoxica- 11. 6 Mostoftheinterviews weredonebytheauthor. byAlfred usedis thatdescribed 5 The method R. and HaroldFine- (Bloomington: I am gratefulto Solomon Kobrin Lindesmith inhis OpiateAddiction to makeuse ofinterviews done stone forallowing me Press,1947), I wouldlikealso to Principia acknowledge theimportantroleLindesmith's work bythem. playedin shapingmythinking aboutthegenesisof 7 I hope to discusselsewhereotherstages in this Marihuana use. naturalhistory. Becoming A MARIHUANAUSER 237. tion. Most users agree that it cannot be learn throughthe more indirectmeans of smokedlike tobacco if one is to get high: observationand imitation: Take in a lot of air,you know,and.

10 I I cameonlikeI hadturned on[smoked mari- don'tknowhowto describe it,youdon'tsmoke huana]manytimesbefore, didn't it likea cigarette, youdrawin a lotofairand wantto seemlikea punkto ,likeI. getit deepdowninyoursystem and thenkeep didn'tknowthefirstthingaboutit-how to it it thereas longas youcan. smokeit,orwhatwasgoingtohappen, orwhat. I justwatched himlikea hawk-I didn'ttake Withouttheuse ofsomesuchtechnique8 myeyesoffhimfora second,becauseI wanted thedrugwillproduceno effects, and theuser todoeverything justas watchedhow willbe unableto get high: he heldit,howhe smokedit,and everything. The troublewithpeoplelikethat[whoare ThenwhenhegaveittomeI justcameoncool, notable to get high]is thatthey'rejust not as though I smoking that'sall thereis to it. Either helditlikehedidandtooka pokejusttheway it right, they'renot holdingit downlongenough,or he did.