Morris, Craig (2019) Medicinal cannabis users downplaying and shifting stigma: Articulations of the ‘natural’, of what is/is not a ‘drug’ and oppositions with ‘chemical’ substances. Sociological Research Online, 25 (3). pp. 350-368. ISSN 1360-7804 (Print), 1360-7804 (Online) (doi:10.1177/1360780419870814)

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Abstract

Whilst sympathy exists among the general public for chronically ill and/or disabled people who use cannabis medicinally, cannabis remains a prohibited substance in the UK. How do medicinal cannabis users negotiate this potential stigma when talking about their use of this substance? I reflect on the spoken discourses of 10 medicinal cannabis users (from a sample of 32), obtained by way of qualitative interviews, adopting a critical discourse analysis approach to the data. Specifically, I focus on their articulations around three related themes: cannabis as a ‘natural’ substance, discursive oppositions between cannabis and other substances and articulations about what is/is not a ‘drug’. I examine how participants articulated these themes in ways that attempted to negotiate the potential for stigma that talking about their substance use involved. I found they used rhetorical strategies that downplay their own deviance, attempt to shift the application of stigma to users of other substances or both. I argue that the more powerful the discursive resources that are articulated, the less rhetorical work an individual has to do to negotiate positive moral standing in an encounter. I also consider to what degree these articulations involved constructions emphasising individual self-control. I argue that in asserting that cannabis is a ‘natural’ substance (and therefore is less inherently risky to use than manufactured substances) the participants do emphasise their individual self-control.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	medicinal cannabis, discourse, drugs, natural, deviance, stigma, normalization, Bourdieu
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform K Law > K Law (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > Centre for Applied Sociology Research (CASR) Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS)
Last Modified:	13 Dec 2020 00:52
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/24067

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