Mendez1

JeanClaudeMendez
Mr.Campbell
UWRT1101
10/30/2104

TheLynchCourtyardTokers

Justabouteveryoneincollegehaseithersmokedmarijuanaorknowssomeonewhohas,
infactaccordingtoastudybytheUniversityofMichiganconductedin2013approximately36%
ofcollegestudentshavetriedsmokingmarijuanaatleastonceintheirlifetime.Another
astoundingfigurediscoveredbythestudyisthatoverthecourseof20years(19932013)the
numberofdailyorneardailyusersofmarijuanahadspikedfrom1in50to1in20.WhenIwas
assignedtowriteanethnographyonagroupofpeopleIinstantlyhadtheideatowriteitona
groupofstoners,orpeoplewhofrequentlysmokemarijuana.
ThegroupIchoseisntidentifiedbyanyofficialmeans,butitisaveryeasily
distinguishablegroupofstudentswhichIamfriendswith.IchosethembecauseIthoughtthey
wouldnotonlybeinterestingtoobserveonadeeperlevel,buttheyarealsothemostconvenient
groupsincethey'realwayshangingoutoutsideofLynchhallwhereIreside.Ihadspentplenty
oftimewiththisgroupofpeoplebeforeIstartedonthisethnography,however,onceIstarted
thispaperIreallystartedtopayattentiontotheactualspeech,lifestyle,clothing,attitude,
identity,andmanyotheraspectssharedbymembersofthisgroup.Isoughttoanswerquestions
suchaswhythegroupexistsandhowdotheyfitintosocietyasawhole.

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TalkTheTalk
OneofthefirstthingsthatInoticedwhilehangingoutwiththestonersisthattheyhavea
veryexpansivevocabularypertainingtosmokingmarijuana.AnotherthingIquicklypickedup
onwasthefactthattheyhavemultiplenamesorwordstodescribethesamething.Marijuanafor
example,seemstohaveaninfiniteamountofnamesbud,weed,pot,ganja,maryjane,herb,
reefer,chronicandthelistgoesonandon.Therearemanywordsforthepotencyof
marijuana,lesspotentandcheapermarijuanaisoftenreferredtoasmidormiddies.Thenthere
arethestrongerstrainsofmarijuana,whicharereferredtoasheadies,loud,ordank.Thereare
alsodifferentnamesforthedifferentmethodsofsmokingmarijuana.rollingitintopaperis
knownasajointordoobie,rollingitintoacigarwrapisablunt,aglasspipeisknownasabowl,
abiggerstationarywaterpipeisabong,avaporizerwassimplyavape.Whenyouinhalethe
marijuanathatisknownasahitoratoke.Therearesomanytermsandnamessurrounding
marijuanasomeonecouldeasilymakeadictionarystrictlyforit
WalkTheWalk
AfterstudyinghowtheyspokeverycomprehensivelyIthenbegantostudyhowthey
functioned.Thegroupgenerallymetuprandomlyinthecourtyard,onewouldrunintoanother
memberandthensomeoneelsewouldstopby,sometimesmemberswouldtexteachotherto
comeout.Theywouldhangoutonthebenches,skateboard,smokecigarettes,andsimply
socialize.Eventuallymostmembersofthegroupwouldbeoutandmostofthetimesomeone
broughtuptheideatosmoke.
Fortheprocessofsmokingmarijuanathegrouphadlotsofritualsandetiquette,for
instancewhenevertheydecidedtosmokethefirstthingwouldbetofigureoutwhoallwas

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puttingintosmoke.Usuallyoneortwopeoplesuppliedallofthemarijuanaandthepeoplewho
smokedforfreewouldusuallysupplyitthenexttime,alternatingininformalturns.Theywould
thentrytofigureoutwheretheywouldsmoke.Oftentimestheywouldheadouttothewoodsor
someonesapartment,ifitwaslateenoughtheywouldjustsmokeoutintheopeninthe
courtyard.Nextonthelistwouldbehowtosmokeit,mostpeoplehadtheirpreferencesbut
ultimatelyitwasprettyrandom,sometimesitwaswhatthemajoritywanted,othertimesitwas
whatwasmostconvenientorwhatwasmostconcealable.OneofthemostimportantthingsI
discoveredwastheissueofwhowouldtakethefirsthit.Mostofthetimeitwaswhoever
suppliedtheweed,ifmultiplepeoplesuppliedititwouldfallovertowhoeverrolleditorpacked
itintothebowl.Oncethefirstpersontakestheirhitthegrouphadasayingleftislawandso
themarijuanawouldgetpassedtothepersonontheirleftandthustherotationcommences.
Therewasneverastrictruleastohowmanyhitssomeonecouldtakebeforepassingbutusually
itwas1or2hits.Whensomeoneheldontothemarijuanafortoolongtheothermembersofthe
groupwouldcallthemoutonitwithasnippyquitchiefingthebud.
Finallywhenevertheywerefinishedwithwhatevertheyweresmokingtheywouldeither
rollupanotheroneordecidetheywereallsufficientlyhigh,afterfinishingtheywereinamore
mellowmood.Wheninthewoodsoranapartmenttheyusuallywalkedbacktothecourtyardto
sitdown.Membersstillsocializedalthoughafewofthemtendedtobecomeintroverted
afterwards.Afewmemberscarriedaroundportablespeakersandtheywouldplaymusicwhile
theyhungoutandthemusicchoicewasquiteerratic.Thiscouldlastafewminutesorseveral
hoursjustdependingonpeoplesmoodsortheweatherconditions.Onebyonepeoplewould

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trickleouttogoeatordosomehomeworkandslowlythehangoutsessionwouldcometoan
end.

Fittingin
Peopleinthisgroupareverydiverse,agoodmixtureofboysandgirls,andlotsof
differentraces,somewhite,someblack,theresevenanasianananarab,theyallhavedifferent
sensesofstylealthoughtheygenerallydresssomewhatalternatively,theyspeakinverydifferent
accentsandcomefromdifferentpartsoftheworld,everyoneisanindividual.Theyarevery
acceptingtowardsnewcomersandoftentimesoffertosmokewithvisitors.AsIanalyzedthe
groupasawholeInoticedthattheyallhaveverylaidbackattitudesandtendtoavoidconflict.
Wheneverissuesaroseinthecourtyardtheywouldquicklydismissthem.Thegroupneverhas
settimestomeetup,theyhangoutwheneverisconvenientwhichrelatesbacktotheirrelaxed
attitudetowardseverything.Inmanywaystheyrejustyouraveragecollegestudent,Theydo
schoolworkandgotoclass,theygooutandparty,theonlydifferenceisthattheyspendalotof
theirfreetimegettingstoned.Itiswhatmadethegroup,whenIinterviewedoneofthegirlsI
askedherhowexactlytheyallmetandIwastoldWealljustmetrandomlyinthecourtyard,It
lookslikeaplacestonerswouldchill.
Tankingitallin
AfterIfinishedobservingeverythingaboutthegroup,learningtheirlingo,Theirprocess
ofsmoking,whattheydotogetherbeforeandaftergettinghigh,howtheyinteractwitheach

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otherandpeopleoutsideofthegroup,Isoughttoanswerafewquestions.Howdoesthisgroup
ofstonersfitintothegeneralstonerculture?Howdoesitfitintosocietyasawhole?
Ivebeenaroundplentyofstonersgrowingup,Iusedtobeoneforayearorsoinhigh
schooluntilIdecideditwasntforme.Withstonerstherearedefinitelysomethatperpetuateall
ofthestereotypestheysmokeallday,areunmotivated,anddropoutofschool.Thisgroup
actuallysetsaverygoodexample.Whiletheydogethighfrequentlytheystillgettheir
schoolworkdoneandarecompetitivestudents.Intermsoffittinginwiththemarijuanaculture
theydosoinapositiveway,theybreaksomeofthestereotypesandcastagoodlightuponthe
culture.
Thentherecomestheissueofhowtheyfitintosociety.Eventhoughmarijuanas
popularityisincreasingandsomestatesareevenlegalizingitforrecreationaluse,Itisstill
illegalunderfederallawandisseennegativelybyalargeportionofsociety.Itisseenasa
countercultureinAmericaandunfortunatelyleadstolotsofarrests,1every42secondstobe
exactaccordingtotheUSNews&WorldReport.Thisinsomepeopleseyesmakemarijuana
smokersseemlikecriminalsanddrugaddictsandwhileconservativesmayfrownuponstoners
theyhaveactuallycontributedgreatlytooursociety.Peoplewhousedtosmokeweedregularly
includeSteveJobs,BillGates,andevenourcurrentpresidentBarackObama.Inrecentyears
therehavebeenseveralbreakthroughsinthemedicinalpropertiesofmarijuanatotreatavariety
ofillnesses,whichcontradictsmarijuana'slabelasaschedule1drugoradrugwithnomedicinal
value.AspeoplelearnmoreaboutmarijuanaanditbecomesmorepopularIthinkmarijuana
culturewillbecomesimilartothedrinkingcultureinAmericaandastimegoesonitwill
integrateintooursocietybetterandstopbeingsuchataboo.

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Studyingandobservingthisgrouponadeeperlevelhasopenedmyeyestomarijuana
andtheculturebehinditinwaysIwouldnthavenoticedinthepast.EventhoughIalreadyknew
plentyIlearnedmanyinterestingfactsaboutthecultureasawholeandhoweventhoughIt
definitelyhasnegativeaspectsitcanserveasapositiveforceinoureverchangingsociety.