Identity construction processes of undergraduate student users of cannabis in a Ghanaian public university

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.