Abstract:
Although there are many studies conducted on cannabis and its effect on the
people who use them, with regards to their health, relationships and personal
development, each user may have unique reasons and experiences that spur him or her
on to use it. The study is limited to only the undergraduate student users of cannabis
at the University of Education, Winneba with the aim of finding out the culture that
surrounds the consumption and use of cannabis. The data collection methods used
included, interviews and participant observation as well as focus group discussions.
The study also examines the identities that the undergraduate students construct as
well as how they negotiate their identities around their cannabis consumption. Using
the theory of symbolic interactionism, the identity negotiation theory and the social
cognitive theory; through a qualitative research approach which was anchored on a
descriptive research approach, the findings were properly analysed and themed. The
study showed that factors such as ease of access, socialization, music and academic
self-efficacy are pertinent motivations that influence the undergraduate students to
consume cannabis. The study also showed that the participants, through their
performances at the smoking avenues constructed multifaceted identities including
personal identity, gender identity and social identity. The phenomenological study
also showed that, in negotiating their identities around cannabis consumption, the
strategies adopted by the participants included fashion, unity and entertainment. The
study therefore concludes that the use of cannabis or marijuana among undergraduate
students in universities and colleges is significantly normalised.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Communication and Media Studies,
Faculty of Foreign Languages Education and Communication,
submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Communication Skills)
in the University of Education, Winneba