Psychosociocultural perspectives on chronic cannabis use: the Costa Rican follow-up

The social standing of marijuana use in Costa Rica becomes important as one examines the results of this study. Before 1968, marijuana use itself defined Costa Rican consumers of the drug as lower class. Its coming to fashionability among Costa Rican upper-middle-class youths during the late 1960's and early 1970's temporarily blurred marijuana's class identification. Nevertheless, the lower-class users' dress, speech and style of use kept them distinct from these youths. In 1986, working-class users participating in the present intensive study still occupied the lowest positions in the Costa Rican social strata. Their marijuana use does not appear to be a major factor in blocking upward mobility. The social stations in which users were raised were more powerful in determining their present fates than taking up or not taking up marijuana use. Users speak the language differently, employing a mix of lexical changes and wordplay to keep the decent Costa Ricans out of their clandestine business. Smokers of marijuana also dress differently from other Costa Ricans and tend to live in disreputable barrios, according to the stereotype. The Costa Rican image of a marijuana smoker is one of a streetwise, corrupt and uncomfortably distinctive character who is not to be trusted. The main problem in assessing the relationship between marijuana use and the human condition of marijuana users is the pervasive influence of the general social disapproval of marijuana smoking in Costa Rican society.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)