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lloward S. Becker

8 e""o*tng a llilarlhuana

User

Ar.r unknown, but probably quirc large, nombcr of pmple in the United States usc marihuana. Thcy do &is in spite of the fact that it is both illcgal and disap- proved.

The phenomenon of marihuana usc has rccsived much at- tention, particularly from psychiatrists and law enforcemcnt ofrcials. The reseerch that has becn done, as is often the case with research on behavior that is viewed as deviang is mainly concerned with the question: why do they do it? Attempa to account for the use of merihuana lean heavily on thc prem- ise that the presence of any particular kind of behevior in an individual can best be explained as the result of some trait

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which predisposcs or motivaes him to engagc in that Llc- havior, In tlre case of marihuant user this trrit is usually identi- 6cd as psychological, as a necd for fanrasy and cscapc from psychological probiems thc in<iivi<iuai cannot facc.r

I do not think such thcorics can adequately account for rncrihuana use. In fact, marilrunna use is an ioteresdng case for thcories of dcviance, becrusc it illustratcs the w.y dcviant mc- tivcs acrually dcvclop in rhc course of expcrieocc wirh the dc- viant activity. To pur a conrplex ergumenr in a few words: instead of the deviant nrotivcs leading to tlre deviant behavior, it is thc othcr way around; the deviant behavior in dme pro- duccs thc dcviant motivadon, Vague inrpulses and desires-in this casc, probably mosr frequendy a curiosiry about thc kind of cxpcriencc thc drug will produce-arc transformcd inro dcfnire panerns of action through thc social interpretation of a physical cxpcricnce which is in itself arnbiguous, Marilruana use is a function of thc individual's concepdon of marihuana and of the uscs to which it can be put, and rhis conceF tion dcvclops as thc individual's cxpcrience s,irh the drug in- cfcases.'

Thc research reporte.d in this gnd the next chaptcr dcals with thc carccr of thc marihuana user. In this chaptcr, we look er thc deyelopmcnt of thc individual's immediate physical ex- pericnce with marihuana. In thc ncxt, we considor thc way hc rcacts to tlre various social controls tlrat have grou'rr up around use of thc drug, What wc are rying to undcrstand here is thc

t, Scc, .s cr.mpl.s of rhis rpproach, thc following: EIi Marcovitz rnd Hcnry J. Mcycrr, "Thc Marihuenr Addict in rhc Army," Wet lledicittc, Vl (Dccc.nbcr, fg+t). t8l-lrli Hcrbqt S, Gaskill, 'Mrrihoaar, en Inrori- cznt," Amaica lo..rrro, ol Pt1cbiary, CII (Scgcurbcr, t9{I), 202-2$r Sol Charcn rod Loir Pctclmen, "Pcrsondity Studici oI Madhu$r AddicB," Amcriccn lontacl ol Prycbiotty, Cll (M.!cl\ lg{d), 6?+{82.

2. This rh.or.ticd poiot of vicw srcms from G.om. H.rbcrt Mcrdk discusfun ot obicct i Mitrd, Scf, ad Socici.f (Cbiigo: Univcnity of Chicego Prcss, l93t). pp. 277-280.

Eecomiag o Morihuooo llser sequencc of changes in attirudc and experience which lead to the ure of mnrilxtana f ot plearure. This wey of phrasins rhe problem rcquires a little explanacion. Marihuana do.s no.-o.* ducc addiction, at least in the sense rhat alcohol and tlre ojiatc drugs do, The user cxperiences no withdrawal sichness and exhibim no incradicable craving for the drug.! The most fre- qucnr perern of usc might bc termed ,,recrcational.', The &ug is used occasionally for the pleasurc the user 6nds in it. a relatively casual kind of behavior in comparison with thai connccrcd with the use of addicting drugs. The report of rhc Ncw York Gry Mayor's C,ommittec on Merihuanr ernpha_ sizes this pointr

A pcrson may bc e confirmcd smokcr for a prolonqcd ocriod rnd givc up the drug voluntrrily rvirhout crp"rien.inirnJ .rrr- ing for it or cxhibiting withdrawal symptoms. H" miy, ir so-" time latcr on, go back to is use. Othcri may rcmain infrequent uscrs of rhc cigarettc, teking one or two a weck, or onlv whcl thc "social sctting'l calls for paricipadon From t.ime ,o ii." *" had onc of our invcstigetors asocirtc wirh e marihurna ur.r, Tl.,c invcstigrtor would bring up rhc subjecr of smoking. This would invariably lcad to thc suggesrion that they obtain soinc marihuana cigircttr. Thcy would scck a ,'rca-pari,,, and if it was closcd thc smokcr and our invcstig:tor would calmly rcsume thcir prcvious acdviry, such as the discusion of life in gcneral or thc plivino ni pool. Therc wcrc apprrcntly no signs indicativc of fruitrirloi;r, rhc srnokcr ar not bcing ablc to gratify thc dcsire for rhc dru, Wc considcr rhis poinr highly significrnt sincc ir is.o

"onrrr.?to rhc cxpcri€ncc of uscrs of othcr nrrcotics, A similar siruatio'n occurring in one addictcd to thc use of morphinc, cocrine o" hcroin would rasult in r compulsivc attirude on thc part of ti" addict to obuin thc drug. If unrble ro securc it, theai would i. obvious physical and menral manifesrarions of frustration. This may bc considercd presumptive cvidencc thrt there is no rue

- f.- C-f. Roggrs. Adms, "Marihuana.,' Ba .tin of tbc Ncto yo Ac cnrof Mcdicinc, XVlll (Novembcr, 1942). 7or-7t0.' .{3

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addiction in thc medical scnse rssociated with thc use of mari-

huana.'

In using the phrase "usc for pleasure"' I mean to emphasize .fr"-r"i""t"p"frive and casuai character of the behavior'

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tlo etminaie from consideration here those few

"rr..1t *fri"t marihuana is used for is prestige. value only' as

, r"*Ua that one is a certain hind of person' with no pleasure

at ;ll being derived from is use')-- -ii" ,ir.rr"t I am about to rePoft was not so designed

that it could consritute a crucial test of the thcories that relate

.rriirr* use to som€ psychological trait of the user' How- ever, it does slrow that psychological explanations arc not ln

themselves sufficient to eccount for marihuana use and that

they are, perhaps, not even necessary' Researchers attempting

," i-u. such psychological theories have run into two great lii"utU*, neue, sarisfactorily resolved' which the theory ,....","a he.e ,uoids. In the first place' theories based on .thc l"ir,"n". of some predisposing psycltological trart have drrh-

iut* i, ,".oun,ing for ih't group of users' who- turn up in .-Jil.'nrrnb.r, in-evety srudy,n who do not exhibit the uait

". ,rri t *t i"f, are coniitlered to cause the behavior' Second'

I""rr"foni"rt theories heve difficutry in accounting for the

Lir, ,rirUifi.y over time of a given individual's behavior irrith r.f.tinc" to the drug' The same Person wlll at one tlme

C" ,Jr" to use the drug f"t pleasure, at a later stage be ab.le and willinq to do so, and sdll later agrin be unable to.use it rn

this way, -These

changes, dilficult to explain from a theory

irm.a .l thc user's neeids for "escape" arc readily understand-

,i;T,'.iiiJ:;!3,yi'^r:i"r*f ":'"H:"5:xl#,T"#:.{fi ::::iiir#fl i'Jg{fi .}q*r*i'l'rt,ix;lt*ti,!t\Y;!i:i i"')iiii"o" Mctliccl Auicittion, CXlll (July l' 19")' ll'

Secomiag o Morihuono lJser able as consequences of changes in his conccption of the drug. Similarly, if we think of the marihuana uscr as someone who has learned to view marihuana as something that crn give him pleasure, we have no difficulty in undcrstanding the existence of psychologically "norma[" users,

In doing the srudn I used the method of analytic induc- tion. I tried to arrive at e general statement of the sequence of chrnges in individual attitude and expericnce which always occurred when the individual became willing and ablc to use marihuana for pleasure, and never occurred or had not becn permanently maintained when the person was unrvilling to use marihuana for pleasure. Tlre method requires that erlery case collected in the research substantiate the hypothcsis. If one case is encountered which does not substantiate it, rhe re- searcher is required to change the hypothesis to fit the case which has proveh his original idea wrong.6

To develop and test my hypothesis about the gcnesis of marihuana use for pleasure, I conducted fifty intervicrvs with marihuana users. I had been a professional dnnce musician for some years when I conducted this study and my first inter- vicws were with peoplc I had met in the music business. I asked tlrenr to put me in contact rvith othcr uscrs who would be willing to discus their experiences with me. Collcagues working on a study of users of opiate drugs made a few intcr- views available to me which contained, in addition to materiat on opiate drugs, sufficient material on the use of marihuana to furnish a test of my hypothesis.? Although in the end half

6. Thc mcrhod is dcscribcd io Alfrcd R. Lindcsmith, Opiai. A*liction (Bloomingron, Indianr: Principir Press, 1947), chap. l. There hes Lrcen con- riderable

-discussion of this meihod in the litcmture. $cc, perticulrrly, Rrlpfi H. Turncr, "The Qu.st for Univcrsrls in Sociological Rcse*ch," Arn.ric;n Sociologicat Rcitictt,lS (Dcccmbcr, r9r!)' 604-6ll, rnd thc litctaturc circd there.

7. I wi.h to thrnk Solomon Kobrin end Harold Finestone for mrking thcse intcrviews avrileblc to mc.

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of the fifty intervieu/s were conducted with musicians, the other half covered a wide range of people, including laborers, machinists, and people in the profesions. The sample is, of course, in no sense "random"; .it would not be possible to draw a random sample, since no one knows the nature of the univcrse from which it would have to be drawn.

In interviewing users, I focused on the history of the per- son's cxperiencc with marihuana, sceking major clranges in his artitude toward it and in his actual use of it, and the reasons for these changes. Where it was possible and appropriatc, I used tlre iargon of the user himself.

The theory surts with the person who has arrived at the point of willingness ro try marihuana. (I discuss how he got thcre in the next chaprer.) I-Ie knows irthers use marihurne to "get high," but he does nor t(now what this means in any con- crete \vay. I-Ie is curious abour thc erperiencc, ignorant of what it may turn out to be, and afraid it may be more than he has bargained for, The sreps outlined Lrelow, if he undcrgoes them alt and maintains the attirudes dcveloped in them, leave him willing and able ro use thc drug for pleasure when thc opportunity presents i6elf.

Leorning the fechnique

The novice does not ordinarily get high the first tirne he smol<es marihuana, and several attempts are usually necesary to induce this srate. One explanarion of this may be that the dnrg is rror smol<ed "propcrly," that is, in a way that insures suflicient dosage to produce real symptoms of intoxicarion. Most uscrs agree that it cannot be smoked like tobacco if one is to gct high:

Secomiag o Morifiuono U:er Take_in a lot of air, you know, and . . . I don,r know how

to descnbe ir, you. dont smokc it like a cigrrerte, you draw in alot ot air and get it dcep down in your sysrcm ani then keep it there, I(ecp it Sherc as long as you crn.

Wirhout rhc use of some such technique s the drus will produce no effecrs, and the user will be unable to g.c I,i!I,,

The trouble with pcople like thar Iwho are nor able to pct Nghl is thm rhey're iusr nor smoking it righr, rhat's all rherc iJtoit. Eirhcr they're not holding it do-wn l"'ng .nougt, o. rh*,r" gettrng roo much rir an,l nor enough smolie, or ih" orh"r iu", around or sornething like that. A loi of people lurt aon,r rnrot'eit right, so mrurally norhing's gonn, hrpi"n.' If nodring happens, it is manifcstly imposible for the user to develop a conceprion of the drug as an obiect which can be used for pleasurc, and use will thcrcfore nor continue. The first srep in tlre scquencc <.rf evcnts thar must occur iI rhe ner_ son is to become a user is that he must learn to usc tlle Dr;Der smoking rcchnique so rhat his use of the drug will pi,rdi.e effccts in ternrs of which his conceprion of it can changc.

Such a change is, as nright be expccted, a rcsulr of-rl e in_ dividual's pirrict)adon in groups in which nrarihuana is uscd. In theur the individual learns thc proper way to smolie the drug. This may occur through direct reachirrg:

I wrs smoking like I did an onlinrry ciqrrcttc. He srid .,Nn dont do ir lilre rhat." He srid,,,Suck it, v,iu kuow,,tr..u in nn.i hold it in your lungs till you . . . for a fcriotl of iinrc.,,

I said, "ls there any linrit of tinrc to hbld irl,' . Flc-.said, "No, just till you fccl thot you want to lct it out, let ir out." So I tlid rhar tlrrcc or four tinrci.

8. A p|rmrecologist norcs that rhis rirrr:rl is in frcr rn cxrrcmclv c(ficicnrw.y or gctltng rnc-drug rnro rhe blood srrc:In. Scc R. p. Wakon. , anlntana: Auerico't Nalu Drug Prorrarr, (pl,il:rdclpl,ir, l. g.-iippii,";;l9l8). p. {8.

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Many new users are ashamed to admit. ignorance and, pre-

t"nding to know already, must learn through the more in-

direct means of observation and imitation:

I came on like I had turned on [smoked marihuana] many times before, youiknow. I didn't went to scem like a punk to this cat, See, like I didn't know the 6rst thing about it-how -to.smoke it, o, wi,"t was going to hrppen or what'I iust watchcd him like

a hewk-t didnit takc my eycs ofr him for a second' because I *ii"a - do everything iusi as he did it' I watched how he held ii,

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"mokei it, a'nd cverything' Thcn when he gave it to

me I iust came on cool, as though I knew cxacdy what, rhe.score rv"r. i h"ld it like he did rnd took a poke iust the way he drd'

No onc I interviewed conrinued marihuana use for pleas- ure without leaming a technique that supplied sufEcient dos-

ape for the eff.ct of the drug to aPPear. Only when this was IJarn"d was it possible for a conception of the drug.as an obiect which could bc used for pleasure to Gmerge' Without

such , "on.eption

marihuana use was corsidered meaningless

and did not continue'

Leorning lo Perceive the Efecls

Even after he learns the proper smoking tcchnique' the

new user may not get high and thus not form a concePtion ot

rlre dnrg as iometliing which can be used for Plclsure' A re-

-.rk -*rd" by " rser;uggested the reason for this difficulty in

getting high and Point;d to the next necessary steP on thc

road to bcing a uscr:

As a matter of fact, I've seen a guy who was high out of his

mind and didn't know it. IHow can thrt be, man?] 'iVcll, it's pretty strange' I'lt grant you that, but I've seen it'

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Becoming o Mqrihuono Usat This guy got on with me, claiming that he'd never got high, one of those guys, and he got completely stoned. And hc kept insist- ing that he wasn't high. So I had to prove to him that he was.

What docs this mean? It suggcsts that being high consists of two clcments: the presence of syrnptoms causcd by mari- huana use and the recognition of these symptoms and their connection by the user with his use of the drug. It is not enough, that is, that the effects be present; alone, they do not aurornatically provide the experience of being high. The uscr must be able to point them out to himself and consciously connect them with having smoked marilruana before lre can have this expcrience. Otherwise, no matter what actual elTects are produced, he considers that the drug has had no effect on him: "I figured it either had no effect on me or othcr pcople were exrggereting is effect on them, you knorv. I thought it was probably psychological, sec." Such persons bclicve the whole thing is an illusion and thet the wish to be high lcads the uscr to decciyc himsclf into bclicving that something is happen- ing when, in fact, nothing is. Thcy do not continue marihuana use, feeling that "it docs nothing" for thcm,

Typically. horvever, the novice has frith (devclopcd from his observation of uscrs who do get high) that the drug actually will produce sonre new cxpcricncc and continucs to cxpcri- ment with it until it docs. Ilis frilurc to get high worrics him, and he is lil<ely to ask more expcricnccd users or provol<e com- ments from them about it, In such convers:rtions he is madc aware ol specific details of his cxperience which he mry nor have noticed or may have noticed but failed to identify as symptoms of being high:

I didn't gct high the 6rsr time. . , . I don't think I hcld it in long enough. I probably let it out, you lrnow, you're a littlc rfraid. The second timc I wasn't surc, and he Ismoking comprnion] told me, lil<e I askcd him for some of thc synrptonrs or sonrcthing,

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how would I know, you know. . . . So he told me to sit on a stool. I sat on-I chink I sat on a bar stool-and he said, "Let your feet hang," and then when I got down my fect were real cold, you.know.

And I started feeling it, you tnow. That was the first tim€. And then about a week after thar, sometime prctty close to it, I really got on. That was the first time I got on a big laughing kick, you know. Then I really kncw I was on.

One symptom of bcing high is an intense hunger. In the next case the novice becomes aware of this and gets high for thc first time:

Thcy were just laughing the hell out of me becruse like I was eating so much. I iust scofred [rtc] so much food, and they werc lust laughing at me, you know. Somerimes I'd be Iooking at them, you know, wondering why they're laughing, you know, not knowing what I was doing. [Well, did they tell you why they werc laughing eventually?l Yeah, yeah, I come back, "FIey, man, what's happening?" Like, you know, like I'd ask, "What's hap- pcning?" and all of a sudden I feel weird, you knorv. "Man, you're on, you know. You're on por [high on marihuana]." I said, "No, am l?" Likc I don't know what's happening.

The learning may occur irr more in<iirect ways:

I henrd lirtle rcmarks that were made by other pcople. Some- body said, "My legs arc rubbery," and I can't renrember all tlre renrarks that rvcre made bccausc I was very attentivcly listcning for all thcse cucs for what I wm supposed to fecl likc.

The novice, then, eager to have this feeling, picks up from other uscrs some concrete rcferents of the terrn "high" and applies these notions to his own experience. The ncw con- cepts make it possible for him to locate these symptoms among hls orvn sensations and to point out to himself a "sonrething diffcrent" in his experience that lre connects with drug use. It is only when he can do this that he is high. In the next case,

Becoming o Mo huono lJser the contrast between trvo successive expericnces of a user makes clear the crucirl imporrance of the arvarencss of the sympton)s in being high and re-emphasizes the iml:orrrnt role of interacrion with orher users in acquiring,tl.

"o,,""p,. ,t,rimake this awareness possible:

.. [Did you gct high the first time you turned on?l yeah. sure. Although,.come to thinlr of it, I gucss I really didn'r. Ln.";, li'k; that hrst mc it was mor€ or less of a mild drunk. I was hanov. I guesq you know whar I mean. But I didn't rcclly koow'l'irr" high, you know what I mean. It was only after tlie sccond timJ I.got high_rhat I rcalized I rvas high thc hrst timc. ffren I kncw that, something diflerent was htppening.

IHow did you know thrt?l How aid I knowt If whar hnn_ pened to me that nighr would of happencd ro yout you *ouldii" known, believe mc. We played the fi.st run" foi

"trnori i*ohgue-91e tunel Imagine, man! We got on the

"rn,i ;;;playcd chis one runet u,e startcd at ninei'clock. !Vt,"n r,r,," ,,.,i fnished I looked at my warch, it's a quarter ,o .f.r"n. At,,io, rwo hours on one tune. And ir didu'r seim like rnvthinr,.

I mein, you know, ir does rhat to you. l,, Iif,. j"t','i,iu" ,rr"f, more rirne or sonre,rhing. Anyrvay, uihcn I .arv ,ti"t, n,.,,, i, ,uo, too ntuclt. I kncw I musr really bc high or s(,mcrlrin[ i[ lnvrtrinr, Iilic.rhat could-lmppcn. Sce, rrrd tlren rhcy expl,rine."l ,u ni" ,tr? thrt's whar ir did ro you, you harl a diflircnr'scnsc nf rin,. r*i everything. So I realized rhrt rhrt,s whrt it ryrs. t t.n"", ,1,"n. Like. the firsr rinre, I prob:rbly fck that rvay, yo, f,r,rru, t,,,i-i didn'r l<now rvhrrt's h:rppcning,

It is only when the novice bccomcs rble to get high in tlris sense rhat he will continue to usc nrlrihuana for plJasure. In cvery casc in rvhich use conrinued, thc uscr lrad acqrrircrl thc necessary concepts with which ro exprcss to hinrsclt thc f;rct 1!at he was expcriencing new sensadons caused by the drug. That is, for usc ro continuc, ir is ncccsslry not o,rly tu ,rs" tli" drug so as to produce effects but also to lerrn to pcrccivc thcse

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efiects when they occur' In this way marihuana acquires meaning for the user as an oblect which can bc used for pleas- ure.

With increasing experience the user developc a greateruP- preciation of the drug's effects; he continues to learn to get irigl,. FI" examihes succeeding experiences closely, looking for ,rew efie"ts, making sure the old ones are still there. Out of

this there grows a stable set of categories for experiencing the drug's effects whose presence enables the user to get high with ease.

IJsers, as they acquire this set of categories, become con-

noisseurs. Like experts in fine wines, they can specify where a perticular plant was grown and what time of year it was harvested. Although it is usually not possible to know whether

these attributions aie correct' it is true that they distinguish between batches of marihuana, not only according to strengthl

but also with respect to the dillerent kinds of symptoms pro- duced.

The abiliry to perceive the drug's efiecs must be main- tained if use is to continue; if it is lost, marihuana use cesses. Two kinds of evidence support this statement. First, people who become heavy users of alcohol, barbiturates, or opiates do not continue to smoke marihuana, largely because they lose the ability to distinguish berween its effects and those of

the other drugs.'They no longer know whether the mari- huana gets them high. Second, in those few cases in which an

individuat uses marihuana in such quantities that he is always

high, he is apt to feel the drug has no effect on him, since the

essential element of a noticeable differencc between feeling

9- "srnokc$ hevc rcptrtcdly stated that thc consumption of whiskcy -hil. smokine nesatcr thc potincy of thc drug. They 6nd it vcry difficult to qct 'hieh' -rrhlti atint iog whiskcy end becausc of thrt smokcrs Tpill not a'iit *tit. usinq rhe 'weid."' (New York City Mayor's Committcc on Merihurnr, Thc'Matibuant Ptoblem in thc City ol Ncut Yotk, op. cit., P. lr.)

Secoming o Noihuono llser high and feeling normal is missing. In such a situation, use is likely to be given up completely, but temporarily, in order that the user may oncc again bc able to perceive the dilference.

Leorning lo Enioy the Effecls

One more step is necessary if the user who has now lcarned ro get h;gh is to continue usc. He must learn to enioy thc ef- fecu he has iust lcarned to experience. Marihuana-froducc.l sensations are not automatically or necessarily pleasurable. The taste for such experience is a socially acquirid one, not different in kind from acquired rasrcs for oysrers or dry mar- tinis. The user fecls dizzy, thirsry; his scalp tingles; Iie nris- judges time and disrances. Are tlrese things plcasurable? I-Ie isn't sure. If he is to continuc marihuana use, he nrust dccide that they are, Otherwise, gctting high, while a rcal cnosgh experience, will bc an unpleasant one lre would rathcr avoid.

The effects of the drug, wlren first pcrccived, ntay bc physically unpleasant or at least ambiguous;

It started taking effcct, and I didn't know what was haprrcn- ing, you know, what it was, and I was very sick. I walkcd aio'und the roorn, walking around rlre room trying to get off, you know; it just scarcd me at first, you know. I wasn'r uscd to tliat kin.l of feeling.

In addition, thc novice's naive interpretation of what is hap- pening to him mry furrher confuse and frighten him, prrticu- larly if he dccides, as many do, that he is going insane:

I fclt I was insane, you know. Everything pcoplc done to mc just wigged me. I couldn't hold a convcrsation, and my nrin4 would bc wandering, and I was always thinking, oh, i ,lor,'t know, weird things, like lrearing music different. -. I qet rhe fccling that I can't talk to anyonc. I'll goof completely. -

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Givcn thcse typically frighrening and unpleasanr first ex- periences, the beginner will not continue usc unless he learns to redefine the scnsarions as pleasurable:

It was offered to me, and I tried it. I'll tcll you onc thing. I ncver did enjoy it at all, I mcan it was iust nothing rhat I could cn)oy. [Well, did you gct high when you turned <.rn? ] Oh, yeah, I got definitc feelings'from it. lut I didn't cnjoy them. I mean I got plenty of rcactions, but they wcre mostly reactions of fear. [You were frightencd?l Yes. I didn't enioy it, I couldn't seem to relax with ir, you know, If you can't rclax wirh a thing, you can't enioy it, I don't think.

In other cases thc 6rst experiences were also definitely un- pleasant, but the person did become e marihuana user. This occurred, howevcr, only after a later experience enabled him to redefine thc sensations as pleasurable:

IThis man's first experience wrs exuemcly unpleasant, involv- ing distortion of spatial rclationships and sounds, violcot thirst, and panic produccd by thcse synrptoms.l After the 6rst time I didn't rurn on for about, I'd say, tcn months to r ycar. . . . It wasn't a moral thing; it was bccause I'd gotten so frightened, bcin' sc high. Ari i ciidn't want to go tluough that again, I mcan, my rcaction was, "Well, if this is what they crll bcin' high, I don't dig fiikcl it." . . . So I didn't turn on for a year almost, accountathat....

Well, my friends started, an' conscquendy I started again. But I didn'r havc any morc, I didn'r have tlrrt samc initial reaction, after I started turning on again.

[n intcraction rvith his friends he became able to 6nd pleasure in the effects of the drug and eventually becamc a regular user.l

In no casc will use continue without a redefinirion of the ef- fecs as cnioyablc.

This redcfinition occurs, typically, in interaction with more experienced users who, in a number of ways, teach the novice to find pleasurc in this experience which is ar 6rst so

Becoming o Mo huono l)scr frightening.to They may reassure lrim as ro the temDorxrv characrer of the unpleasant sensations and minimize th.i. s..i_ ousness, at thc same time calling aftention to the more eniov_ able aspects. An experienced uscr describes how t e hr#l'". newcomers to marihuana use:

Well, thcy ger prerry fugh sometimes. Thc averasc oerson isnt rcady for thar, and it is a litrle frightening to tlrl*'rom"_ rinrcs. I mean, thcy'vc bccn high on lush [alcohJlt. an,t .tr"r-"". highcr thar way than tlrey,ve ever been beforc, ,na tl.r, i""J. knorv whrt's happening to rhem. Ilecausc thcy think theJ'.".,.r- ing to keep going up, up, up till they lose rheir nrinds J. l.?i^ doing weird things or somerhing. you havc to tike r.rrsurc t1,"1,,- explain to them thar they'rc not really flipping or anything. ther they're gonna bc all righr. you have to irisi ta'ik o,.ri nr,lf t,"- i1B. afrlid, Keep talking ro thern, reassuring, relling tl,.m iti, nll right. And comc on with your own story! fou knoi, ,,The srnrc thing happened to me. You'll ger ro like that aftcr awhilc.,, l(eco coming on like that; prcrry soon you rall< thern out of bcinl scared.'And besides they sce you doing ir and norhing horriblc i happening to you, so that gives rhem rnore corrfiricni-c.

fie more experienced user may also teaclr the novice to regu- latc the amount hc smokcs more carefully, so

", to avoid a"nyseverely uncomfortable symptoms while rctrining rlre lrlcasant ones. Finally, he teaches the new user rlut hc can ,,gei ro like it afrer awhile." Hc teactres him to rcgrrd thosc alnlriguous experiences formerly defincd as unpleasant as cnjoyrblcl The older user in the follorving incident is x persor *l.,or",rr,o have shifted in rhis way, and his remarkj have thc cffect of helping others to mal<e r similar rede6nition:

A new uscr had her 6rsr cxpericncc of thc effccrs of mari- huana and bcc:rmc friglrtcncd and hysrcrical. Slrc,,fch likc slrc was hrlf in and hrlf out of thc roorn'l rnrl experienccd

" nu1nt,".

of alarming physical symptoms. One of rhi morc ""p".i"n.J

10. Charcn anrl Pcrclm?l:,, op, cit., p. 679.

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uscrs p(6cnr srid, "Shc's drnggcd bccrusc shc's high likc tlut I'd givc rnything to gcr thet high m)ls lf. I hevcn'r bccn thet high in ycers,"

In shorg whet y/,as oncc frightcning end disasteful bo- comcs, aftcr e .mstc fos it is built up, pleasanq dcsirc4 end oougfrt aftcr. Enioymeft is inroduccd by drc favonblc dcfni- tion of thc cxpcricncc th.r onc acguircs from orhcrs. Without thb, $sc will oot continuq for rmrihuana will not bc for thc uscr an obicct hc cen rsc for pleasura

In addition to bcing . ncccss.ry stcp in bccoming I uscr, thb rcprescns ao imponrnt condition for continucd usc, It b quitc common for expcricnccd uscrs suddanly to have ln un- plcrsant or frightcning speri€[cc, which they cannot de6nc as plcasureblq cithcr bccausc thcy havc uscd r larger amount of marihuam then usual or bccausc thc nrarihuane thcy hevc uscd turns out to h of e highcr quality than thcy cxpcctcd. Thc uscr has scnsatiom which go bcyond any conccption hc hrs of whct being high is and is in much thc same situadon as drc novioc, uncomfortnblc aud frightcncd. Hi may blamc it on an ovcrdoec and simply bc morc cercful in thc future But hc may maltc rhis thc occrsion for e rcthinking of hb attitudc toward thc drug end dccidc that it no longcr can give him pleasurc. Whcn thh occurs end is not fotlowcd by a rede6ni- tion ol the &ug as capablc of producing pleasurq usc will cctse.

fie likclihood of ruch e rcdefnition occurring dcFnds on the dcgrcc of thc iodividual's participation with othcr uscrs. Wherc this pefticiperion is intensivc, thc individual is quickly nrllrcd out of his fccling rgainst marihuane usc. In thc ncrr casc, on thc other hend, thc cxpcricace wrs vc{f disturbiog, and thc eftcrmeth of thc incidcnt cut thc pcrson's panUpa- tion with othcr users to zlmost zcro. Usc stoppcd for fircc ycars and bcgan egein only whcn e combination of circum-

0ecoming o Morihtoao llser stances, important among which was a resumption of tie with users, made posible a redcfinition of the n turc of thc drug:

It was too much likc I only mrde about four pokcs, end I .' couldn't even get it out of my moutb I w.s so high, and I got

rcal flippcd. In thc bascmcnq you know, I iust couldnt stay in thcre anymorc. My hcart was pounding rcal hard. you know, and I was going out of my mind; I thought I was losing my nrind complctcly. So I cut out of this basement, and this othcr guy, hc's out of his mind, told mc, "Don't, don't leave nrq mrn. Suy hcrc." And I couldn'r

.' I walled outsidq rnd it wrs 6ve bclow zcro, and I thought I wes dying, and I hed my coat open; I was swcrting, I was pcrspir- ing. My wholc insides werc all . . . , and I s.alkcd .bout rwo blocla away, and I feintcd bchind e bush. I don't know how long I laid thcrc. I wokc up, and I was feeling thc worst, I can't dc- scribc it ct all, so I madc it to r bowling allcy, man, and I was try- ing to act normal, I ms trying to shoot pool, you know, tryinB to act rerl normal, and I couldn't lay and I couldn't stanrl up and I couldn't sit dorvn, and I wcnt up and laid dotn whcre somc gu;rs that spot pins lay dot'n, and thrt didn't hclp mc, and I rvcat down to a doctor's ofhcc. I was going to go in there and tcll thc doctor to put mc out of my miscry . . . bccausc my hcort was pounding so hard, you know. . , , So thcn all wcck cnd I started f,ipping, sceiug things thcrc and going through hcll, you know, ell kinds of abnormal things. . . . I iust quit for a long timc thcn,

[Hc wcnt to a doctor who dcfincd thc syrirptonr for him as those of a nervous brcakdown causcd by "ncrrcs" and "worrics," Although he rvrs no longcr using marihuana, hc hld somc rccur- rcnccs of thc symptoms which lcd lrim to suspect that "ir wrs all his ncrvcs."l So I iust stoppcd worrying, you knowi so it was rbout thirty-six months larcr I startcd making it again, I'rI iust take a few pokes, you knorv, [I-lc 6rst resumcd usc in rhc com- pany of the srmc uscr-fricnd with whonr hc had bcen involvcd irr the original incidcnt.l

A pcrson, then, cannot begin to usc mrrilrurnl for plcas- urc, or continue its usc for plersure, unless lrc lcrrns to de6nc

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is elfects as enloyablq ualess it br:comes and remains an object he conceives of as capable of producing pleasure.

In summary, an ildividual will be eble to use marihuana for pleasure only when he gocs through . process of leaming to conceive of it as an obiect which czn be used in this waf No one becomes a user wi.thout ( I ) learning to smoke the drug in a way which will produce real effecrs; (2) learning to rec- ognize the ellects and conncct drem with drug use (iearning, in other words, to get high); end (3) leaming to enioy the sersadons he perceives. In the course of this process he devel- ops a disposition or motivation to, use marihuana which was not and could not have been prescnt when he began use, for it involves and depends on conceptions of the drug which could only grow out of the kind of actual experience detailed above. On completion of this procrss he is willing and able to use marihuana for pleasure.

He has learned, in shorq to ans.wer .,Yes" to the quesdon: "Is it fun?" The direcdon his further use of the drug takes depends on his being able to continue ro answer ..yes,, to this question and, in addition, on his being able to answer "yes- to other questions which arise as he lrccomes aware of the im- plications of the fact that society disapproves of the practice; "Is it expedient?" "Is it morall" Once he has acquircd the ability to get enioyment by using the drug, use wili continue to be possible for hinr. Consideratiors of morality and ex- pediencn occasioned by the reactions of society, may interfere and inhitrit use, but use courinues to be a possibility in terms of

_his conception of the drug. fie act becomes imposible

only when the abiliry to enioy the experience of being high is lost, through a changc in the Bser's conception of thi arug occasioned by certail kinds of expedence with it

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