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Nowadays, many individuals, whether current users or former users of drug substances, are susceptible to the stigma that disrupt their lives and emotional state. According to Reid (2020, p.1), stigma is a “socially devalued” aspect of oneself that has become morally repugnant. A physiological imperfection, behavioral flaws, or involvement in a deplorable organization can all be examples of this characteristic. In either case, the unwelcome difference negatively separates the person from other members of society. Medical use of cannabis and legalization of the drug assist in lessening marijuana stigmas. Still, legislation changes alone do not entirely change social attitudes, which makes the given issue especially vital. Thus, the aim of this paper is to analyze the common perceptions of marijuana users.
At the given time, the perceptions of marijuana use depend on factors such as expertise, social attractiveness, intellect, hygiene, religion, professional attitude, political stance, and average income, the dearth of which allow society to stigmatize an individual. For example, in the study conducted by Reid (2020), researchers found the prevailing stereotype that the common user of marijuana is a young adult that lacks qualifications and responsibility. Moreover, the researchers claimed that marijuana users could also be stigmatized due to their behavior, intelligence, and gender (Reid, 2020). For example, the “stoner stereotype” amplifies characteristics such as recklessness, carelessness, low intelligence, and inexperience (Reid, 2020, p.1). Moreover, according to the statistics, men were more likely to be labeled as marijuana users (Newhart & Dolphin, 2018). In addition, the book by Mincin (2018) corroborates the given statement by claiming that most former and current marijuana users are seen as individuals with poor mental abilities.
As for another common stigma, the study conducted by Reid also discovered that the perceptions of society depend on the annual income of the individual. For instance, people with high yearly incomes are rarely regarded as users, while individuals with low incomes are more prone to the stigma of drug addicts (Reid). Additionally, the research by Jain et al. (2014) aimed to discover whether young doctors, practitioners, and the general public thought it inappropriate for medical students to post photos of marijuana on social media. All participants indicated that such photographs obviously violated existing professional norms or legislation (Jain et al., 2014). Thus, such posts were seen as improper and provided the most distress, which led to perceiving such individuals as unprofessional.
Another research analyzed the stigma associated with those who are addicted to alcohol, cannabis, or opiates. The theoretical concept of desirable social distancing toward users was tested using path analysis (Janulis et al., 2013). When it comes to marijuana use, it was determined that such individuals were seen as less socially attractive and induced the desire to keep social distance (Janulis et al., 2013). Furthermore, as per the claims in the research conducted by Matthews, many users of marijuana are viewed as unhygienic individuals with unhealthy appearances.
However, society’s attitude tends to be different toward religious individuals and those who use medical cannabis. For example, in this case, patient story testimonies, such as people recounting their experiences about how medical cannabis helped reduce symptoms of their severe disorders, make up a significant percentage of Israeli press coverage of medical cannabis. In Canada and the United States, widespread analogous media stories (Sznitman & Lewis, 2018). The popularity of this approach is significant because user accounts, which provide a profoundly emotional viewpoint, have the potential to have a substantial influence on society (Sznitman & Lewis, 2018). According to the study by Sznitman & Lewis (2018), people’s attitude toward the use of marijuana varies depending on whether the individual is seriously ill. Lastly, in Burdette et al. (2018) study, researchers evaluate the relationship between religiousness and cannabis use for medicinal and recreational purposes. According to the data provided in the work, religious individuals had lower rates of medicinal and recreational cannabis use (Burdette et al., 2018). As a result, the stigma of drug use affects those who are not religious.
While the literature covers the common perceptions of marijuana users, including physical appearance, mental abilities, and professionalism, the studies lack an analysis of societal attitudes toward individuals with identical traits, except for the use of marijuana. In this respect, considering that individuals might not fit the profile of a substance user, the perceptions might shift when recognizing the factors of marijuana usage. Thus, this might imply that a biased attitude can be induced when learning the mentioned fact.
As a result, the research question focuses on what kind of perception of cannabis users society holds. In this case, the research design will involve a survey in which two photos of the same person and similar traits are introduced. The only difference between the cases is the usage of marijuana, which supposedly should navigate the respondents in rating the likeability, professionalism, and intelligence of the individual in the photo. The hypothesis of the research states that determining whether the stock photo depicts a marijuana user has an impact on people’s perceptions of certain personalized features of users.
References
Burdette, A. M., Webb, N. S., Hill, T. D., Haynes, S. H., & Ford, J. A. (2018). Religious involvement and marijuana use for medical and recreational purposes. Journal of Drug Issues, 48(3), 421-434.
Jain, A., Petty, E. M., Jaber, R. M., Tackett, S., Purkiss, J., Fitzgerald, J., & White, C. (2014). What is appropriate to post on social media? Ratings from students, faculty members and the public. Medical Education, 48(2), 157-169.
Janulis, P., Ferrari, J. R., & Fowler, P. (2013). Understanding public stigma toward substance dependence. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(5), 1065-1072.
Mincin, J. (2018). Addiction and stigmas: overcoming labels, empowering people. In New directions in treatment, education, and outreach for mental health and addiction (pp. 125-131). Springer.
Newhart, M., & Dolphin, W. (2018). The medicalization of marijuana: Legitimacy, stigma, and the patient experience. Routledge.
Reid, M. (2020). A qualitative review of cannabis stigmas at the twilight of prohibition. Journal of Cannabis Research, 2(1), 1-12.
Sznitman, S. R., & Lewis, N. (2018). Examining effects of medical cannabis narratives on beliefs, attitudes, and intentions related to recreational cannabis: A web-based randomized experiment. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 185, 219-225.
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