Abstract
In the present study, I investigate how often unacknowledged gendered norms shape young women’s use of and access to illicit cannabis. I apply a “doing gender” approach to analyse 58 interviews conducted with cannabis using and non-using female and male college students in Canada in 2012, a time when nonmedical cannabis possession and supply were illegal. I identify prominent gendered norms and stereotypes that are critical of women’s use and that create barriers to women’s participation as either buyers or dealers in the illicit cannabis market. I show how these norms reinforce associations of cannabis use with masculinity and how they may direct social pressure against women’s use. I engage with Deutsch's (2007) concept of “undoing” gender to provide a novel contribution to research on cannabis by illustrating women’s strategies for resisting derogatory stereotypes. I highlight how women resist stigmatization of their use in the university context by drawing on presentations of social belonging, particularly scholastic success. However, I show that women may reinforce other stereotypes when appealing to such strategies. Legalization of nonmedical cannabis will create regulated commercial access alternatives to the highly gendered barriers that characterize illicit cannabis markets. My analysis suggests some increase in women’s cannabis use may be expected as a result, although deeply embedded gender norms are likely to maintain downward social pressure on women’s rates of use.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmad, N., Flight, F., Singh, V., Poole, N., & Dell, C. (2008). Canadian addiction survey (CAS): Focus on gender. Ottawa: Health Canada.
Aldridge, J., Measham, F., & Williams, L. (2011). Illegal leisure revisited. London: Routledge.
American College Health Association. (2013). National college health assessment II: Canadian reference group data report. Hanover, MD: American College Health Association.
Amos, A., & Haglund, M. (2000). From social taboo to “torch of freedom”: The marketing of cigarettes to women. Tobacco Control, 9(1), 3–8 https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.9.1.3.
Anderson, T. (2001). Drug use and gender. In C. E. Faupel & P. M. Roman (Eds.), Encyclopedia of criminology and deviant behavior: Self-destructive behavior and dis-valued identity (Vol. 4, pp. 286–289). Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis.
Angelone, D. J., Mitchell, D., & Pilafova, A. (2007). Club drug use and intentionality in perceptions of rape victims. Sex Roles, 57, 282–292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9262-9.
Bay-Cheng, L. Y., Bruns, A. E., & Maguin, E. (2018). Agents, virgins, sluts and losers: The sexual typecasting of young heterosexual women. Sex Roles, 79, 699–714. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0907-7.
Boyd, S. (2010). Reefer madness and beyond. In M. Deflem (Ed.), Popular culture, crime and social control: Sociology of crime, law and deviance (Vol. 14, pp. 3–24). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
Brochu, S., Lepine, P., Patenaude, C., & Erickson, P. G. (2018). Formal and informal control of cannabis: Regular users' experience. Substance Use & Misuse, 53(10), 1657–1665. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2018.1424911.
Brochu, S., Duff, C., Asbridge, M., & Erickson, P. (2011). "There's what's on paper and then there's what happens, out on the sidewalk": Cannabis users’ knowledge and opinions of Canadian drug laws. Journal of Drug Issues, 41(1), 95–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/002204261104100105.
Butters, J. (2004). The impact of peers and social disapproval on high-risk cannabis use: Gender differences and implications for drug education. Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, 11(5), 381–390. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687630410001704437.
Cormier, R., Dell, C., & Poole, N. (2004). Women and substance abuse problems. BMC Women's Health, 4((supplement 1), S8), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-4-s1-s8.
Dahl, S., & Sandberg, S. (2015). Female cannabis users and new masculinities: The gendering of cannabis use. Sociology, 49(4), 696–711 10.1177/0038038514547896.
Daly, M., & Chesney-Lind, M. (1988). Feminism and criminology. Justice Quarterly, 5(4), 497–538. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418828800089871.
Department of Justice, Government of Canada. (2019). Cannabis legalization and regulation. Retrieved December 20, 2019 from https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/cannabis/
Deutsch, F. (2007). Undoing gender. Gender & Society, 21(1), 106–127 10.1177/0891243206293577.
Duff, C., & Erickson, P. (2014). Cannabis, risk and normalisation: Evidence from a Canadian study of socially integrated, adult cannabis users. Health, Risk & Society, 16(3), 210–226. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698575.2014.911823.
Duff, C., Asbridge, M., Brochu, S., Cousineau, M., Hathaway, A., Marsh, D., … Erickson, P. (2012). A Canadian perspective on cannabis normalization among adults. Addiction Research & Theory, 20(4), 271–283. https://doi.org/10.3109/16066359.2011.618957.
Dozier, R. (2005). Beards, breasts, and bodies: Doing sex in a gendered world. Gender & Society, 19(3), 297–316 10.1177/0891243204272153.
Ellemers, N. (2018). Gender stereotypes. Annual Review of Psychology, 69, 275–298. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011719.
Erickson, P. G. (1992). Recent trends in Canadian drug policy: The decline and resurgence of prohibitionism. Daedalus, 121(31), 239–268 https://www.jstor.org/stable/20027127.
Erickson, P. G. (1993). The law, social control, and drug policy: Models, factors and processes. International Journal of the Addictions, 28(12), 1155–1176. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826089309062183.
Erickson, P. G. (2015). Social regulation of drugs: The new 'normal'? Radical Criminology, 5, 193–217 http://journal.radicalcriminology.org/index.php/rc/article/view/59/Erickson.
Erickson, P. G., & Watson, V. A. (1990). Women, illicit drugs, and crime. In L. T. Kozlowski, H. M. Annis, H. D. Cappell, F. B. Glaser, M. S. Goodstadt, Y. Israel, H. Kalant, E. M. Sellers, & E. R. Vingilis (Eds.), Research advances in alcohol and drug problems (Vol. 10, pp. 251–272). New York: Plenum Press.
Ettorre, E. (2004). Revisioning women and drug use: Gender sensitivity, embodiment and reducing harm. International Journal of Drug Policy, 15(5), 327–335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2004.06.009.
Greaves, L., & Poole, N. (Eds.). (2007). Highs & lows: Canadian perspectives on women and substance use (pp. 219–225). Toronto: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Green, A. I. (2007). Queer theory and sociology: Locating the subject and the self in sexuality studies. Sociological Theory, 25(1), 26–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9558.2007.00296.x.
Haines, R. J., Johnson, J. L., Carter, C. I., & Arora, K. (2009). "I couldn't say, I'm not a girl" - adolescents talk about gender and cannabis use. Social Science & Medicine, 68, 2029–2036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.03.003.
Haines-Saah, R. J., Johnson, J. L., Repta, R., Ostry, A., Young, M. L., Shoveller, J., … Ratner, P. A. (2014). The privileged normalization of marijuana use–an analysis of Canadian newspaper reporting, 1997–2007. Critical Public Health, 24(1), 47–61 https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2013.771812.
Hammersley, R. (2011). Developing a sociology of normal substance use. International Journal of Drug Policy, 22(6), 413–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2011.09.003.
Hathaway, A., Comeau, N., & Erickson, P. (2011). Cannabis normalization and stigma: Contemporary practices of moral regulation. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 11(5), 451–469. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895811415345.
Hathaway, A., Mostaghim, A., Kolar, K., Erickson, P. G., & Osborne, G. (2016). A nuanced view of normalisation: Attitudes of cannabis non-users in a study of undergraduate students at three Canadian universities. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 23(3), 238–246. https://doi.org/10.3109/09687637.2015.1112362.
Hathaway, A., Mostaghim, A., Erickson, P. G., Kolar, K., & Osborne, G. (2018). “It’s really no big deal”: The role of social supply networks in normalizing use of cannabis by students at Canadian universities. Deviant Behavior, 39(12), 1672–1680. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2017.1411047.
Health Canada. (2007). Canadian addiction survey (CAS): A national survey of Canadians' use of alcohol and other drugs: Substance use by Canadian youth. Ottawa: Ministry of Health.
Hunt, G., Asmussen Frank, V., & Moloney, M. (2015). Rethinking gender within alcohol and drug research. Substance Use & Misuse, 50(6), 685–692. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2015.978635.
Kelan, E. (2010). Gender logic and (un)doing gender at work. Gender, Work and Organization, 17(2), 174–194. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2009.00459.x.
Kelly, B. C., & Vuolo, M. (2018). Trajectories of marijuana use and the transition to adulthood. Social Science Research, 73, 175–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.03.006.
Kirst, M., Kolar, K., Chaiton, M., Schwartz, R., Emerson, B., Hyshka, E., … Thomas, G. (2015). A common public health-oriented policy framework for cannabis, alcohol and tobacco in Canada? Canadian Journal of Public Health, 106(8), e474–e476. https://doi.org/10.17269/CJPH.106.5206.
Kolar, K. (2015). Study drugs "don't make you smarter": Acceptability evaluations of nonmedical prescription stimulant use among undergraduate students. Contemporary Drug Problems, 42(4), 314–330. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091450915614050.
Kolar, K., Erickson, P. G., Hathaway, A., & Osborne, G. (2018). Differentiating the drug normalization framework: A quantitative assessment of cannabis use patterns, accessibility, and acceptability attitudes among university undergraduates. Substance Use & Misuse, 53(14), 2339–2349. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2018.1474226.
Leos-Toro, C., Reid, J. L., Madill, C. L., Rynard, V. L., Manske, S. R., & Hammond, D. (2017). Cannabis in Canada - tobacco use in Canada: Patterns and trends, 2017 edition, special supplement. Waterloo, ON: Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, University of Waterloo.
Measham, F. (2002). "doing gender"--"doing drugs": Conceptualizing the gendering of drugs cultures. Contemporary Drug Problems, 29, 335–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/009145090202900206.
Measham, F., & Shiner, M. (2009). The legacy of ‘normalisation’: The role of classical and contemporary criminological theory in understanding young people's drug use. International Journal of Drug Policy, 20(6), 502–508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2009.02.001.
Measham, F., Williams, L., & Aldridge, J. (2011). Marriage, mortgage, motherhood: What longitudinal studies can tell us about gender, drug 'careers' and the normalisation of adult 'recreational' drug use. International Journal of Drug Policy, 22, 420–427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2011.06.001.
Mehta, C., Alfonso, J., Delaney, R., & Ayotte, B. (2014). Associations between mixed-gender friendships, gender reference group identity and substance use in college students. Sex Roles, 70, 98–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0334-8.
Miller, J., & Carbone-Lopez, K. (2015). Beyond 'doing gender': Incorporating race, class, place, and life transitions into feminist drug research. Substance Use & Misuse, 50(6), 693–707. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2015.978646.
Nelson, J. A. (2015). Are women really more risk-averse than men? A re-analysis of the literature using expanded methods. Journal of Economic Surveys, 29(3), 566–585. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12069.
Nentwich, J. C., & Kelan, E. K. (2014). Towards a topology of ‘doing gender’: An analysis of empirical research and its challenges. Gender, Work and Organization, 21(2), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12025.
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847.
Parker, H. (2005). Normalization as barometer: Recreational drug use and the consumption of leisure by young Britons. Addiction Research & Theory, 13(3), 205–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066350500053703.
Random Name Generator. (2018). Retrieved Feb 2, 2018 from http://random-name-generator.info/
Reid, J. L., Hammond, D., Rynard, V. L., Madill, C. L., & Burkhalter, R. (2017). Tobacco use in Canada: Patterns and trends (2017th ed.). Waterloo, ON: Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, University of Waterloo.
Romo, N., Marcos, J., Rodriguez, A., Cabrera, A., & Hernan, M. (2009). Girl power: Risky sexual behaviour and gender identity amongst young Spanish recreational drug users. Sexualities, 12(3), 355–377. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460709103895.
Rotermann, M., & Langlois, K. (2015). Prevalence and correlates of marijuana use in Canada, 2012. Health Reports, 26(4), 10–15 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25875158/.
Rotermann, M., & MacDonald, R. (2018). Analysis of trends in the prevalence of cannabis use in Canada, 1985-2015. Health Reports, 29(2), 10–20 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29465739/.
Sandberg, S. (2012). Cannabis culture: A stable subculture in a changing world. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 13(1), 63–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895812445620.
Small, M. L. (2009). "how many cases do I need?" on science and the logic of case selection in field-based research. Ethnography, 10(1), 5–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/1466138108099586.
Statistics Canada. (2017). Canadian tobacco alcohol and drugs (CTADS): 2015 summary. Retrieved January 20, 2018 from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/canadian-tobacco-alcohol-drugs-survey/2015-summary.html.
Thomas, G. (2012). Levels and patterns of alcohol use in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.
Tuchman, E. (2010). Women and addiction: The importance of gender issues in substance abuse research. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 29(2), 127–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/10550881003684582.
Valocchi, S. (2005). Not yet queer enough: The lessons of queer theory for the sociology of gender and sexuality. Gender & Society, 19(6), 750–770 www.jstor.org/stable/27640849.
Warner, J., Weber, T., & Albanes, R. (1999). "girls are retarded when they're stoned." marijuana and the construction of gender roles among adolescent females. Sex Roles, 40, 25–43. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018874216109.
Watson, T. M., & Erickson, P. G. (2019). Cannabis legalization in Canada: How might ‘strict’ regulation impact youth? Drugs: Education. Prevention & Policy, 26(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-019-00209-0.
West, C., & Zimmerman, D. (1987). Doing gender. Gender & Society, 1(2), 125–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243287001002002.
Acknowledgments
I would especially like to thank Dr. Patricia Erickson for her support and guidance through the many versions of this manuscript. Project investigators for the overarching drug normalization study (of which this analysis is one part) include Dr. Andrew Hathaway, Dr. Geraint Osborne, and Dr. Patricia Erickson. This research is supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grant.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
The data analyzed in this manuscript is drawn from a project funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada research grant, #410–2011-0070.
Conflict of Interest
The author, Kat Kolar, has no conflicts of interest to report.
Research involves human subject participation in a semi-structured interview and/or survey. Informed consent was received from all participants prior to commencement of research. Research ethics approval was received by research ethics boards at all three institutions involved in this research: University of Toronto (Protocol Reference #26892), University of Guelph (Protocol Reference #11SE005), and the University of Alberta (Protocol Reference #Pro00024191).
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(DOCX 20 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kolar, K. Women’s Use of and Access to Illicit Cannabis: An Investigation of Gendered Norms among College Students in Canada. Sex Roles 84, 418–438 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01176-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01176-4