The Avowal of Motives for Marijuana Behavior

Abstract

The present report is a comparative analysis of data from different studies on the motives avowed for the use and nonuse of marijuana. Qualitative data on the reasons given by users and nonusers for their behavior were first described and categorized according to 21 verbal patterns. Then these categories were utilized to analyze quantitative data by various investigators, i.e., were the means to compare the frequencies with which each kind of motive was verbalized. The results indicated that knowledgeableness is by far the most frequently expressed motive for the initial use of marijuana. Continued use, however, is largely explained either on the grounds of self-fulfillment or with an appeal to psychological drives. Habitual users in different studies mentioned almost all categories of reasons for smoking more often than did occasional users. Explanations for the two types of nonuse were also quite dissimilar. For the discontinued use of pot, lack of interest is claimed as the chief motivation; but for never use, appeals to illegality, injury, drug addiction, and morality are asserted more frequently. Several conclusions based on these findings are drawn.