Shades of Green: Towards a Typology of Adolescent Cannabis Use

Despite the increasing number of studies on adolescent cannabis use, little is known about the different varieties of cannabis use identities among contemporary youth. In this study, we develop a qualitative typology of adolescent cannabis use to illuminate the multitude of drug use practices and how they intersect with various projects of the self. Drawing on 6 years of longitudinal interview data with a large group of Norwegian adolescents, who were followed from 12–13 years old to 18–19 years old, the analysis illustrates four categories of cannabis use: the coincidental, the occasional, the subcultural, and the compulsive. These typologies highlight the heterogeneous practices involved in adolescent cannabis use and how they are entangled in various youth identity projects. We show how these typologies develop throughout adolescence and how the use of cannabis involves various cultural and identity-bearing elements. Importantly, as cannabis is undergoing several contemporary shifts, linked to changing legislation, increasing commodification and greater embeddedness in popular culture, there is a need to look beyond the strict operationalization's of cannabis use as simply a form of deviance, a subcultural trait, or a normalized feature. This study enhances sensitivity to variations in adolescent cannabis use by highlighting the cultural complexity and fragmentation in young people's perceptions and practices of cannabis use.