‘Becoming a Marijuana user.’
The article by Howard Becker is about the experience of Marijuana users as beginners until they become experienced users and the effects over time. Howard began by finding out what lead the user to try using the drug and what guided their decision to become a user or not. He also enquired on the experience of users and the effects of continuous use of the drug. Becker asked the interviewees follow-up questions that enabled him to know what pleasures made the user continue using bhang and also the adverse effects that made could halt indulgence. In his interview, he majored on the history of using Marijuana, the users’ attitude towards the drug and the consequences of Marijuana.
Howard used the transcripts he obtained to give a final report on the experience of Marijuana users. From the interview, Howard learnt that new users could either fail to get intoxicated for not smoking the drug in the right way or fail to notice signs of intoxication. Those who got intoxicated; beginners and experienced users; found the feeling either pleasurable or not and this made them stop or continue using the drug. He also found out that peers and moral beliefs influenced one’s decisions and experience while using the bhang. He came up with these conclusions from the similar experiences of his various interviewees. From his follow up questions, he was able to obtain the different effects that each user had over time and based on the feelings and attitude of the user, he made his analysis on the various reasons that made one start, continue or cease using the drug. The study and conclusions he made from the interviews enabled him to writes his paper.