As of 2024, 24 states including Virginia and Maryland, and DC have legalized the adult recreational use of cannabis. As laws change, citizens’ perceptions of the drug and reasons for using the drug have also shifted. In 2020, 34.5% of adults aged 18-25 reported using cannabis in the previous 12 months, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Health experts seek to better understand the broader implications of legalizations and individuals’ motivations and attitudes related to cannabis use.
New qualitative research by Iulia Fratila, assistant professor in George Mason University’s College of Public Health, and Liza Berdychevsky, associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, describes in what ways young adults (aged 18-30) view cannabis as a recreational and leisure pursuit. Recreational cannabis legalization and liberalization is shifting across U.S. states. More holistic approaches to understanding perceptions of cannabis benefits and leisure motivations are scarce due to the longstanding criminalization of cannabis. This research provides novel insights into cannabis users’ leisure motivations of use and perceived benefits, which can be leveraged strategically in public health and drug education efforts in the societal transition from criminalization to normalization and commercialization trends concerning cannabis." Iulia Fratila, the principal investigator Participants in Fratila and Berdychevsky’s study suggest cannabis can offer a leisure state of mind (e.g., experiencing flow, relaxation, and meditative state) as well as represent a leisure pursuit reserved for free time (e.g., using cannabis as a reward for free, post-obligations time outside of daily demands). Additionally, participants described how cannabis serves as a leisure activity itself (i.e., the act of getting high) and/or as an activity that accompanies other leisure pursuits and socialization (e.g., getting high and going to the movies), while providing pleasurable outcomes (e.g., feeling enjoyment, engaging in humor, enhancing senses).
"Participants discussed the ways that their recreational cannabis consumption represents a controlled and calculated risk-benefit leisure choice that is successfully managed for their overall well-being. Their narratives highlight that this perceived leisure pursuit does not necessarily interfere with their otherwise productive lives," said Fratila.
These insights can inform harm reduction approaches to cannabis education that may be […]
Research reveals how young adults view cannabis as a recreational and leisure pursuit
