Marijuana and tolerance: Revisiting Becker's sources of control

Abstract

Recreational marijuana use has, in the past four decades, evolved from a practice prevalent only within certain marginalized groups, or subcultures, to one that is now broadly established throughout modern Western culture. With this diffusion, particularly among the middle classes, use of the drug has become increasingly tolerated by law enforcers as well as the general public. Despite continuing prohibition, significant numbers of otherwise conventional adults persist in using marijuana on a regular basis. Based on in‐depth interviews with 30 middle‐class adult users, this article updates Howard Becker's early work on marijuana use and social control. As tolerable deviance, marijuana use has become individualized and is now commonly found outside of the subcultural groups with which it was once associated. Accordingly, it is argued that the practice needs to be studied at a more personal level, as a practical, routine component of people's everyday lives.