Marijuana as a Subculture Essay - 1356 Words

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†¦Marijuana smokers are a subculture because they share sets of beliefs, values, language, and other things that are different from the views of the larger society. They look at things another way because they are pro marijuana, which differs from the rest of society. It is the differences that distinguish part of a culture from the rest. They speak the same language as the rest of the culture but they have a different set of definitions for certain words. On every marijuana related website I visited I found there was a glossary. All of them were very similar. Some examples of different words contained in the glossary follow. The words high, stoned, blazed, and wasted are all defined as being under the influence of marijuana. Blades, skins, papers, and blunts are all synonyms for the paper used to roll marijuana. Joints and blunts are used to described as rolled marijuana, like a cigarette. The inhalation of marijuana smoke is called taking a hit, drag, or toke. A bong or bowl is used to smoke marijuana. There are hundreds of different names for marijuana, some of the most popular are: pot, reefer, weed, bud, chronic, ganja, green, grass, mary jane, and herb. They also have some symbols that represent things. A very popular one is the marijuana leaf. It can be seen a lot of places such as a bumper sticke r or in graffiti. 420 is another common one, it is the number used to representShow MoreRelatedMarijuana Subculture1712 Words   |  7 PagesSubculture: Marijuana in the United States Fatima Alikhan ENG 122 Professor Kenneth Newton Monday May 23, 2010 The United States has an approved list of drugs that are considered legal and illegal that create adverse side effects and hold diverse political views. Marijuana is a substance that popular media holds in a negative undertone while other drugs such as valium and alcohol are supported, if not glorified. Popular media is a powerful tool that gathers a mass of peopleRead More Marijuana as a Subculture Essay1357 Words   |  6 Pages 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 marijuanaRead MoreDrug Abuse Among Teenagers And Young Adults1114 Words   |  5 Pagesactivities. 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There are two reasons why this sub-culture has continued to exist for as longRead MoreLegalizing Marijuana in America978 Words   |  4 PagesLegalizing marijuana in America Illegal drug use is a huge part of American culture and one the most controversial of those drugs is marijuana; its technical name is Cannabis Sativa. But whether you call it cannabis, marijuana, pot, reefer, weed, bud, herb, Mary Jane, hemp, grass or wacky tabacci, it is still illegal in the United States. Actually, all over the world the deliberation rages about the harm or benefits that marijuana has to offer. Attempts to legalize it in the United StatesRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency, A And Violent Criminal Activities1530 Words   |  7 Pagesindustrialized nations that tend to have large cities. 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I was a complete and total crack addict who finally hit the bottom of the barrel and started looking