NCJ Number
213007
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 46 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2006 Pages: 46-77
Date Published
January 2006
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Based on interviews with approximately 120 marijuana/"blunt" smokers in New York City in 2005 and observations of over 500 individuals and 100 peer groups during marijuana-smoking sessions in various contexts, this study compiled a vocabulary of argot (secret vocabulary and concepts unique to a particular group) used by marijuana smokers.
Abstract
This ethnographic study examined the differences and similarities among blunt smokers and marijuana-only smokers, with attention to subcultures. The study discovered that learning the argot used in this subculture was essential to understanding it. This was achieved through interviews with individuals and observations of marijuana purchases and smoking sessions. Approximately half of the 175 words of argot listed and defined in the appendix of this article are standard words that have special meaning in the marijuana-smoking subculture, and the other half are entirely new words. Consequently, an outsider listening to a conversation of marijuana smokers during a typical purchasing and smoking session would hear both familiar and unfamiliar words, but would have no understanding of what the words mean in terms of how they are being used. The argot discussed in this article pertains to the following areas of the marijuana subculture: generic words for marijuana, gradations of marijuana quality, the material culture of those who smoke marijuana, the state of the "high," retail marijuana markets, and marijuana sellers. Also discussed are the argot related to settings and rituals; dynamic expression, communication, and integration (indication of feelings and emotions); and a description of the police and the legal system. Argot availability and diffusion are discussed as well. The current study stemmed from a study entitled "Marijuana/Blunts: Use, Subcultures and Markets." Blunts refer to marijuana consumed in a cigar shell in contrast to marijuana smoked in a cigarette shell. 61 references and appended argot glossary