Growin' Grass: Paradise by the Sodium Light

Abstract

This qualitative study describes members of a little-known and little-researched subculture: small-time marijuana cultivators in the United States. Couched within a symbolic interaction theoretical framework, extensive ethnographic interviews were conducted with eighteen marijuana growers who cultivate cannabis plants in their homes for small sales and personal use. This study creates a typology of growers based on motivation for growing and techniques of cultivation. The authors also illustrate how marijuana growers in this study used various techniques outlined by Sykes and Matza (1957) to neutralize their involvement in a deviant and illegal activity.

Notes

¹“Kind bud” refers to good quality marijuana. “Schwag” or “swag” refers to low grade, poorly cured and prepared marijuana.

²There is a sizable amount of research on marijuana safety conducted in a clinical setting with standardized dosing but there is scant research on the safety associated with marijuana consumption based on plant type or growing method (see Gurley et al. 1998; Zimmer and Morgan 1997). “Safety,” however, continues to be a running theme for most growers.

³This is a specific concern for medicinal users who are looking for a specific form of relief rather than a simple high.

⁴“Couch-lock is a colloquial term that refers to a state of intoxication that suppresses desire for physical or cognitive activity.

⁵The three major varieties are Cannabis Indica, Cannabis Sativa, and Cannabis Ruderalis. Because marijuana in the wild can cross-pollinate with other marijuana plants there are potentially endless variations of these three known varieties.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Filip M. Wiecko

FILIP M. WIECKO received his Ph.D. in criminal justice from Washington State University in 2009. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the sociology and criminal justice department at Texas A&M University–Commerce. His interests include criminology, methodology, public opinion, and drug policy. His work has appeared in several journals including the Journal of Criminal Justice, Journal of Comparative Criminology and Offender Therapy, Social Science Journal, and others.

William E. Thompson

WILLIAM E. THOMPSON received his bachelor's degree from Northeastern State University, a master's degree from Missouri State University, and a Ph.D. in sociology from Oklahoma State University. He is author of Society in Focus, an Introduction to Sociology in its 7th edition and Juvenile Delinquency: A Sociological Approach in its 9th edition. He also has co-edited an anthology in Juvenile Delinquency. His other books include The Glass House, a nonfiction account of his mother's 2-year battle with cancer and Hogs, Blogs, Leathers and Lattes: The Sociology of Modern American Motorcycling.