A Phenomenology of Marijuana Use Among Graduate Students

Abstract

Guided by a hermeneutic-phenomenological methodology, this study focused on gaining an in- depth understanding of the use of marijuana by graduate students, a population which does not fit the usual profile of marijuana users addressed in the field literature, by exploring the experience of being a graduate student who uses marijuana. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with seven marijuana users attending a graduate programme of study, with elaboration and clarification of their initial description of their respective experiences dialogically prompted by means of open-ended questions. Five interrelated themes emerged from the analysis of the transcribed interviews, with the central finding indicating that the experience of being a graduate student who uses marijuana involves a process of ongoing negotiation between, on the one hand, messages from society and academia, and, on the other, an inner sense of self and well-being.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emily Garner

Dr Emily Garner is a licensed clinical psychologist and graduate of the Clinical Psychology (PsyD) programme at the American School of Professional Psychology in Alameda, California. Also credentialed as a Health Service Psychologist, Dr Garner currently works at a rural health clinic in Lake County and a college counselling centre in the Napa Valley area. Using a variety of modalities such as hypnotherapy, CBT, and existential psychotherapy, her goal is always to treat the whole person by first honouring his or her lived experience of being in the world. By working to further integrate physical and behavioural health services, Dr Garner hopes to help illuminate and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness and its treatment. She currently lives in Oakland with her partner of nine years and their cat.