Religiosity and Spirituality of Alcohol and Marijuana Users

Abstract

This study focuses on measuring the spirituality of alcohol and marijuana users, using the new and exclusively Czech measuring tool, the Prague Spiritual Questionnaire (PSQ). The data from 155 respondents shows that users of both marijuana and alcohol scored significantly higher in the mysticism dimension of spirituality than those who only drank alcohol. People who mentioned that the specified spiritual feelings resulted from drug use are significantly more spiritual than those who do not associate their experiences with any drugs. The gender, age, education and professions of respondents show no significant effect on spirituality, while there is a significant difference between religious and nonreligious drug users in the specific dimensions of spirituality. Various implications of these findings, as well as the limitations of the PSQ, are further discussed.

Keywords:

• alcohol
• marijuana
• mysticism
• spirituality

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Czech Science Foundation grant no. 404/08/0058.