Sessions, cyphers, and parties: settings for informal social controls of blunt smoking

The importance of settings for marijuana use has been widely noted, but the way that informal social controls are organized to moderate the amounts consumed have not been well documented. A major ethnographic study of blunts/marijuana use in New York City observed several hundred marijuana users in group locations and conducted intensive interviews with 92 focal subjects. The vast majority of blunt smokers preferred to consume in a group setting. Participants identified three group settings in which blunt smoking often occurred-sessions, cyphers, and parties. The analysis identifies various conduct norms, rituals, and behavior patterns associated with each of these settings. Regardless of the setting, group processes encouraged equal sharing of blunts, moderation in consumption, intermission and breaks between smoking episodes, and involvement in non-smoking activities. Blunt smoking groups rarely encouraged high consumption and intoxication from marijuana.