Culture of Yazd

Culture of Yazd

A Qualitative Study of Marijuana Consumption among the Youth in Yazd City

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Yazd University - Yazd - Iran
2 Yazd University Yazd Iran
10.22034/fyazd.2024.429969.1094
Abstract
Marijuana is a drug which is common among the younger generation. The specific effects of this drug on the nervous system and changes in the perception and cognition of young people along with its pattern of use are contributing factors to this outbreak. The purpose of the present study was to explore the experience of Marijuana addiction among 57 young people in Yazd. The data were collected through 40 semi-structured interviews and 17 open-ended questions, and were analyzed by thematic analysis method. The results showed that participants resorted to marijuana to get rid of individual and social sufferings. Not only did they not believe in the addictiveness of consuming marijuana, but they also suggested it as a kind of medicine. In their view, a distinction should be made between the use of marijuana and the use of other drugs. The three main themes of the present study were: addiction neutralization, consumption medicalization, and ‘Chet antisocial. The present study shows that participants are legitimizing the consumption of marijuana by medicalization. In fact, it is the gateway to medical consumption and at the same time the addiction of consuming marijuana. Researchers believe that society is facing an intergenerational rupture in marijuana consumption, meaning that because marijuana is an imported drug, and especially the generation of the seventies and later has established a serious relationship with it, the policymakers could not make proper contact with this generation. In any case, before it was a narcotic or a delight, the marijuana was an imported substance that we could not or did not want to have a comprehensive view of. Serious attention to this generation’s cultural gap in marijuana consumption is suggested.
Keywords

Subjects


& Frost, T. (2017). Young people who use drugs engaged in harm reduction programs in New York City: overdose and other risks. Drug and alcohol dependence, 178, 106-114
-  Donnelly, J., & Young, M. (2018). The legalization of medical/recreational marijuana: implications for school health drug education programs. Journal of school health88(9), 693-698.
- Foster, K., & Spencer, D. (2013). ‘It's just a social thing’: Drug use, friendship and borderwork among marginalized young people. International Journal of Drug Policy, 24(3), 223-230.
-Grunberg, V. A., Cordova, K. A., Bidwell, L., & Ito, T. A. (2015). Can marijuana make it better? Prospective effects of marijuana and temperament on risk for anxiety and depression. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors29(3), 590.
-Hyde, A., Treacy, M., Whitaker, T., Santos Abaunza, P., & Knox, B. (2000). Young people's perceptions of and experiences with drugs: findings from an Irish study. Health Education Journal59(2), 180-188.
-Hall, W. D. (2006). Cannabis use and the mental health of young people. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry40(2), 105-113.
-Hall, W., & Lynskey, M. (2016). Evaluating the public health impacts of legalizing recreational cannabis use in the United States. Addiction111(10), 1764-1773.
- Huang, S. F., Zheng, W. L., Liao, J. Y., Huang, C. M., Lin, T. Y., & Guo, J. L. (2018). The effectiveness of a theory-based drama intervention in preventing illegal drug use among students aged 14–15 years in Taiwan. Health Education Journal77(4), 470-481.
 
-Jiménez, A. M., Manzano, A. P., & Arenas, J. Z. (2014). Young people, drugs, prevention, and ICTs. Procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 132, 398-404
- Järvinen, M., & Østergaard, J. (2011). Dangers and pleasures: Drug attitudes and experiences among young people. Acta sociologica54(4), 333-350.
- Krauss, M. J., Sowles, S. J., Sehi, A., Spitznagel, E. L., Berg, C. J., Bierut, L. J., & Cavazos-Rehg, P. A. (2017). Marijuana advertising exposure among current marijuana users in the US. Drug and alcohol dependence174, 192-200.
-Macleod, J., Oakes, R., Copello, A., Crome, I., Egger, M., Hickman, M., & Smith, G. D. (2004). Psychological and social sequelae of cannabis and other illicit drug use by young people: a systematic review of longitudinal, general population studies. The Lancet363(9421), 1579-1588.
-Morton, C. M., Hoefinger, H., Linn-Walton, R., Aikins, R., & Falkin, G. P. (2015). What are youth asking about drugs? A report of NIDA drug facts chat day. Journal of drug education45(3-4), 195-210.
- Newhart, M., & Dolphin, W. (2018). The medicalization of marijuana: legitimacy, stigma, and the patient experience. New York: Routledge.
-Nasir, S., Rosenthal, D., & Moore, T. (2011). The social context of controlled drug use amongst young people in a slum area in Makassar, Indonesia. International Journal of Drug Policy, 22(6), 463-470.
- Oesterle, S., Hawkins, J. D., Steketee, M., Jonkman, H., Brown, E. C., Moll, M., & Haggerty, K. P. (2012). A cross-national comparison of risk and protective factors for adolescent drug use and delinquency in the United States and the Netherlands. Journal of drug issues42(4), 337-357.
-Peters, D. C. (2013). Patients and caregivers report using medical marijuana to decrease prescription narcotics use. Humboldt Journal of Social Relations35(1), 24-40.
- Ruiz-Olivares, R., Lucena, V., Raya, A. F., & Herruzo, J. (2019). Personality profiles and how they relate to drug consumption among young people in Spain. Personality and Individual Differences149, 291-295.
-Strandberg, A., Skoglund, C., Gripenberg, J., & Kvillemo, P. (2019). Alcohol and illicit drug consumption and the association with risky sexual behaviour among Swedish youths visiting youth health clinics. Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs36(5), 442-459.
-Tse, S., Zhu, S., Yu, C. H., Wong, P., & Tsang, S. (2016). An ecological analysis of secondary school students’ drug use in Hong Kong: A case-control study. International Journal of Social Psychiatry62(1), 31-40.
-Vuolo, M. (2013). National-level drug policy and young people's illicit drug use: A multilevel analysis of the European Union. Drug and alcohol dependence, 131(1-2), 149-156.
-Wilkinson, S. T., & D’Souza, D. C. (2014). Problems with the medicalization of marijuana. Jama, 311(23), 2377-2378.