Many middle class, white collar individuals use marijuana to unwind during their free time, say researchers from the University of Alberta, Canada. The U of A study, which examined the leisure habits of 41 Canadians surveyed in 2005-06, says that there is no “typical” marijuana user, and that people of various ages engage in smoking while enjoying other leisure activities such as painting, writing, playing sports, watching television and even having sex.

 

"For some of the participants, marijuana enhanced their ability to relax by taking their minds off daily stresses and pressures. Others found it helpful in focusing on the activity at hand," said study author Geraint Osborne in a public statement. Osborne is also professor of sociology at the University of Alberta's Augustana Campus in Camrose. 

The study focused on employed adults ranging in age from 21 to 61, including 25 men and 16 women from Alberta, Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland; participants’ indulgence in the drug varied from daily use to once or twice a year.

Over two-thirds (68 percent) of participants hold post-secondary degrees, with the majority being middle class, and employed in the health care, retail, or service industries in white-collar positions. Other professions represented included the communications industry and social work. Participants characterized their use of marijuana as “responsible” and “moderate,” adding that use occurred within appropriate social situations and without causing harm to others.  

Studies like this are important to help the public and lawmakers understand that marijuana is not the evil that it is usually presented as, says Bruce Mirken, Director of Communications with Washington D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project (www.mpp.org).

 

The Canadian study, Mirken says, describes “what has been the state of affairs for a very long time. [The middle class, white collar population] is something that researchers have just now focused on. There is a lot more research devoted to harmful effects of marijuana than to the everyday, responsible marijuana user, of whom the vast majority are indistinguishable from anybody else.”

 

“There is a relatively consistent pattern that most of these folks are reasonable, responsible, have habitual or common ways of limiting their use, are being moderate, and are behaving in the way you would believe a responsible alcohol drinker to behave,” Mirken explains.

 

Would more studies like this help advance a move toward decriminalizing marijuana? “Anything that helps cut through the cultural clutter and put this in perspective is indeed helpful,” Mirken says. “At least if it gets some publicity, people will hear about it.”

 

The best and bravest way to encourage change, Mirken contends, is “for ordinary, responsible, middle-class marijuana users to come out of the closet. It is like a parallel with the gay/lesbian community.”

 

With more everyday, responsible, and otherwise law-abiding citizens admitting freely to their marijuana use, Mirken argues, the stigma would be lifted. When gays and lesbians began to come out in greater numbers, he says, it “forced neighbors and families to know that they are gay. Well, everybody in America over the age of twelve knows someone who uses marijuana—they just don’t know it.”

 

Is marijuana use a result of the overwhelming stresses of modern living? “I think probably the cultural and environmental factors that interplay with all this are complicated. I would be reluctant to oversimplify,” Mirken says.

 

However, “modern life is hectic and stressful. People seek ways to unwind; some play tennis, some have a beer, some use marijuana. As life gets more intense and hectic and complicated, [the use of chemical relaxants] probably only increases,” he adds.  

 

Study author Osborne questions the policy regarding marijuana’s illegal status. “The Canadian government has never provided a valid reason for the criminalization of marijuana," Osborne said in a public statement. "This study indicates that people who use marijuana are no more a criminal threat to society than are alcohol and cigarette users.”

“Legalization and government regulation of the drug would free up resources that could be devoted to tackling other crime, and could undermine organized crime networks that depend on marijuana, while generating taxes to fund drug education programs, which are more effective in reducing substance abuse,” Osborne added. 

The criminalization of marijuana is a policy issue, Mirken says. “There is a common drive to use chemical relaxants. Why do we criminalize one of the safest, marijuana, while we commercialize alcohol, one of the most dangerous, and turned it into a hugely profitable industry?”

 

For more information on the fight to decriminalize marijuana and the Marijuana Policy Project, go to www.mpp.org.