Psychosociocultural perspectives on chronic cannabis use: the Costa Rican follow-up (1988)

Une enquête psychosociale a été menée de 1984 à 1985 au Costa Rica pour étudier la consommation chronique du cannabis et suivre son évolution en tenant compte des enquêtes précédentes. Les tests psychologiques montrent que les usagers ont des difficultés à maintenir une certaine attention de concentration et à se souvenir de faits récents. Les études anthropologiques montrent qu'ils ont tendance à vivre seuls et occupent des postes de travail qui requièrent peu d'effort mental au contraire des non usagers. Ils sont plus succeptibles d'être victimes d'arrestation et d'emprisonnement et cumulent plusieurs signes de marginalisation sociale. D'autres études, notamment trans-culturelles sont indispensables pour étayer ces constatations.
ENGLISH :
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.