We developed a small, local culture that exists in our apartment complex that was started by smoking. Knowing that many students who I smoke with are consistent smokers, I wanted to know how smoking weed affects their life. My research plan was to find out how smoking marijuana effects the daily life of these ten people. Not only did I interview these people, but I made an effort to really observe these smokers' daily lives in the most objective way I could. .
Most students coming into college already have experimented with marijuana in their high school days. From a recent survey of ten weed smokers in my complex that I conducted all ten of them said that they started experimenting with pot in high school or even before high school. Of all the people interviewed, 80 percent of them said they smoked pot at least once a month before coming to school. Currently, all ten of them smoke at least once a week and 3 of them said that they smoke weed at least once a day, if not more. .
One thing that I realized during my research was that marijuana effects people in different ways. Some people become very lively and talkative, while others become quiet, shy, and even tired. In most cases, it seems as though a person's reaction to smoking directly correlates to how often they smoke. People who are lively and talkative after smoking seem to smoke more often than those who become more introverted. .
In my local culture, there seems to be three types of smokers; party smokers, consistent smokers, and habitual smokers. Party smokers make up 10 percent of the people interviewed. For statistical purposes, I consider a party smoker one who smokes about once to three times a week. These are the type of smokers that would only smoke when they are at parties or somewhere they feel comfortable to smoke. When asked about how many times she smokes, Jessica says, "I only smoke at parties when I"m drinking and my inhibitions are not at the usual level that they are.
