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Cannabis culture

Culture relating to cannabis

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Historically, cannabis has been used as an entheogen to induce spiritual experiences – most notably in the Indian subcontinent since the Vedic period dating back to approximately 1500 BCE, but perhaps as far back as 2000 BCE. Its entheogenic use was also recorded in Ancient China, the Germanic peoples, the Celts, Ancient Central Asia, and Africa. In the modern era, spiritual use of the plant is mostly associated with the Rastafari movement of Jamaica and Bob Marley who become the face of reggae and of Rastafari. Several Western subcultures have had marijuana consumption as an idiosyncratic feature, such as hippies, beatniks, hipsters (both the 1940s subculture and the contemporary subculture), ravers and hip hop.

Cannabis has now "evolved its own language, humour, etiquette, art, literature and music." Nick Brownlee writes: "Perhaps because of its ancient mystical and spiritual roots, because of the psychotherapeutic effects of the drug and because it is illegal, even the very act of smoking a joint has deep symbolism." However, the culture of cannabis as "the manifestation of introspection and bodily passivity" — which has generated a negative "slacker" stereotype around its consumers — is a relatively modern concept, as cannabis has been consumed in various forms for almost 5,000 years. Research published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology claims to have refuted the "lazy stoner stereotype." The study finds that regular cannabis users were no more likely than non-users to be apathetic or anhedonic.

The counterculture of the 1960s has been identified as the era that "sums up the glory years of modern cannabis culture", with the Woodstock Festival serving as "the pinnacle of the hippie revolution in the US, and in many people's opinion the ultimate example of cannabis culture at work". The influence of cannabis has encompassed holidays (most notably 4/20), cinema (such as the exploitation and stoner film genres), music (particularly jazz, reggae, psychedelia and rap music), and magazines including High Times and Cannabis Culture. Cannabis culture has also infiltrated other subcultures such as chess, whereby the "Bongcloud Attack" denotes a high risk opening sequence.

Social custom

Consumption

Cannabis was once sold in clubs known as "Teapads" during Prohibition in the United States; jazz was usually played at these clubs. Cannabis use was often viewed to be of the lower class and was disliked by many. After the outlawing of cannabis, its consumption became covert. Decades later cannabis became once again tolerated by some regions' legislation. Customs have formed around the consumption of cannabis such as 420, named after the popular time of day to consume cannabis (4:20 p.m.) and celebrated on April 20 (4/20). If consumed in a social setting it is encouraged to share cannabis with others.

Use of euphemisms

Euphemisms have long been used by subcultures to identify parts of their culture, and this pertains especially to subcultures of things that are taboo, including cannabis. Cannabis as a product has among the highest number of direct euphemisms, with even more for related elements of cannabis culture. One of the most common cannabis euphemisms, 420, was coined in the 1970s, but other terms are centuries older. A slang scholar, Jonathon Green, noted in 2017 that even though various countries and US states were decriminalizing and legalizing cannabis, more slang terms were still being coined; he suggested that while the original need for euphemisms was because of the illegality, it had become part of the culture as those using the slang terms did not focus on the legal status of the drug, telling Time that coming up with new slang terms "is also simply fun". However, in 2021, it was suggested by researchers that new euphemisms were being coined to evade internet censors and automated moderation so that members of cannabis subcultures could discuss their use online even as common slang terms were added to banned word lists. They also suggested that, for this reason, many of the more recent euphemisms repurposed common words with innocuous meanings, as these words are less likely to be banned (it gave the example of "pot", though this is older).

The use of euphemisms and other related argot also identifies a person as belonging to a complex subculture of cannabis use both globally and regionally, with different terms in different regions. The argot also contributes to the identity of these subcultures by "provid[ing] socially constructed ways of talking, thinking, expressing, communicating and interacting among marijuana users and distributors. [...] These words convey the dynamic expressiveness involved in shared consumption and as a comprehensive communication system among subculture participants."

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