The Social Re-Construction of Marijuana as Medicine

Y

20

Marijuana; Drug Therapy; State Legislation; State Policy; Social Attitudes; Public Opinion; Stakeholders; Patients; Allied Health Personnel; Business; Young Adults; At Risk Persons; Community Attitudes

1935-3308

Marijuana was widely sold and used in the U.S. as a patent medicine until the early 1930s, when states began enacting marijuana laws instigated by racist anti-marijuana propaganda. The social construction of marijuana as one of the most dangerous drugs was completed in 1970 when marijuana was classified as a Schedule 1 drug. In recent years, marijuana has become legalized for medical purposes through ballot initiatives in some states, even while it remains illegal under federal law. The authors of this article took advantage of an opportunity to collect real-time data in Massachusetts immediately after a medical marijuana bill was passed and while medical marijuana policy was being developed and implemented. The purpose of our research was to document the social reconstruction of an illegal drug into a legal medicine, with a focus on community stakeholders' perceptions. Using digital ethnography and focused ethnography, we analyzed documents, field observations, and interviews with community stakeholders to examine their perceptions. We found that marijuana has always had a somewhat conflicting conceptual construction that presents a dilemma for its re-construction as medicine, and that re-constructing marijuana as medicine goes beyond merely changing its legal status.

As Provided

2020

EJ1257896