An Urban Ethnography of a Smoking Culture A Dissertation submitte

232 Pages·2016·1.1 MB·English

by  Doc J

UC Riverside
UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Title
Knowledge of Good and Evil: An Urban Ethnography of a Smoking Culture
Permalink
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5k39t42m
Author
Cathcart, Jermaine Hekili
Publication Date
2016

Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation
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University of California
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
RIVERSIDE

Knowledge of Good and Evil: An Urban Ethnography of a Smoking Culture

A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction
of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

in

Sociology

by

Jermaine Hekili Cathcart

August 2016

Dissertation Committee:
Dr. Adalberto Aguirre, Chairperson
Dr. Ellen Reese
Dr. Augustine Kposowa
Copyright by
Jermaine Hekili Cathcart
2016
The Dissertation of Jermaine Hekili Cathcart is approved:

Committee Chairperson

University of California, Riverside
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express gratitude to my mentor and dissertation chair Adalberto
Aguirre. This project would not have been possible without his encouragement and
support. Professor Aguirre was one of the few people who supported me when I
originally proposed the idea to study cannabis users, growers and sellers. Your continued
support helped me through graduate school. I would also like to thank my unofficial
mentors Ellen Reese and Scott Brooks. Ellen Reese consistently checked up on my
progress and encouraged me to stay focused while in graduate school. Scott Brooks was
there to talk, give assistance and advice even though he was no longer working at UC
Riverside. I would also like to acknowledge my other committee member Augustine
Kposowa who reviewed my work in valuable and constructive ways. I am also grateful to
the sociology department of the University of California, Riverside. This dissertation
would not have been possible without your continued support both financially and
academically. I would also like to thank the many friends and colleagues I had while in
graduate school. Having people I could lean on was vital. The advice I received from
friends and colleagues, sharing stories about our struggles and stresses, and our persistent
writing sessions helped me to tackle what seemed to me to be an unachievable challenge.
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ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

Knowledge of Good and Evil: An Urban Ethnography of a Smoking Culture

by

Jermaine Hekili Cathcart

Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Sociology
University of California, Riverside August 2016
Dr. Adalberto Aguirre, Chairperson

A significant amount of research has been dedicated to examining issues of drugs, drug
abuse and drug dealing. Unfortunately, nearly all of the sociological and criminological
literature on drug using and selling behavior has stayed trapped within a prism that fails
to conceptualize the practice as anything other than, at best, a public health issue, and at
worst, a criminal problem in need of eradication. This dissertation takes a different
approach to understanding the phenomena of drug use, in particular cannabis use.
Utilizing non-participant observations and semi-structured in-depth interview
methodology, I sought to understand the ideas, culture, motivations and rationalizations
of a group of cannabis users, growers and sellers in Southern California. This qualitative
approach provided an in depth, descriptive and rich understanding of the motivations of
cannabis users, growers and sellers. This dissertation presents a view of drug use and
selling as inherently normal, non-problematic, and utilized for spiritual, social, cultural
and reflexive purposes.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................1
Central Research Questions…………………………………………………………………………..4
Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………………………………….8
Methodology………………………………………………………………………………….……..10
Limitations..……………………………………………………………………………..…………..20
Dissertation Outline………………………………………………………………………………....24

CHAPTER 2: The Bush of Understanding……………………………………………………………29
Cannabis…………………………………………………………………………………………….30
Origins……………………………………………………………………………………………...33
Cannabis History…….……………………………………………………………………………..34
Cannabis in the U.S………………………………………………………………………………...43
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………….54

CHAPTER 3: THE CM KINGS………………………………………………………………………..55
Getting In………………………………………………………………………………………………………56
Natty & Dorian…………………………………………………………………………………………………59
The Rest………………………………………………………………………………………………………...64
The Garden of Eden……………………………………………………………………………………………68
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………..73

CHAPTER 4: THE STREET CORNER COLLECTIVE……………………………………………74
The Corner………………………………………………………………………………………….79
Types of Products…………………………………………………………………………………...84
Distribution System…………………………………………………………………………………91
Transactions…………………………………………………………………………………………92
Delivery Service…………………………………………………………………………………….96
Vending System…………………………………………………………………………………….100
Recommendations………………………………………………………………………………….102
Legal versus Illegal Markets……………………………………………………………………….107
Changing Markets………………………………………………………………………………….112
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………….114

CHAPTER 5: STREET CORNER COLLECTIVE THE ORGANIZATION……………………..116
The Shiva…………………………………………………………………………………………..118
Meetings……………………………………………………………………………………………119
Cannabis and Status………………………………………………………………………………..126
Cannabis and Bonding……………………………………………………………………………..129
Cannabis and Reflexivity…………………………………………………………………………..131
Alcohol vs Cannabis……………………………………………………………………………….134
Medicine for the World….…………………………………………………………………………137
Cannabis and Sexuality…………………………………………………………………………….140
Beliefs and Symbols……………………………………………………………………………….143
Culture and Cannabis………………………………………………………………………………151

CHAPTER 6: A CULTURAL…………………………………………………………………………153
The Classical Model………………………………………………………………………………..155
The Anti-motivation Syndrome…………………………………………………………………….159
The Criminological Perspective…………………………………………………………………….165
vi
The Cultural Perspective……………………………………………………………………………178
Culture, Spirituality and Reflexivity…………………………………………………………….….182

CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………...….188
Typlogy of Users and Sellers…..…………………………………………………………………...190
Contributions……………………………………………………………………………………….195
Future Directions…………………………………………………………………………………...199
Politics of Legalization……………………………………………………………………………..202
Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………205

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………….210

APPENDIX………………………………………………………………………………………………222

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KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL:
AN URBAN ETHNOGRAPHY OF A SMOKING CULTURE

Herb is important to those who accept it, but it is more important to the people who do
not accept it, because herb is a reality. Herb is not something you create, herb is a
plant...Why these people who want to do so much good for everyone, who call themselves
government and this and that, why them say you must not use the herb? They say you
must not use it because it make you rebel. Against what? Against the men who create
desire and want of material things, and captivate your mind, and offer you a pension and
then keep it all…So herb make you look upon yourself and instead of wanting to work for
the Man you want to be the Man too. Not in the sense of owning this, but in the sense as
to why should you have to bow to these things... When the world confuses you and you’re
worried, and you don’t have time to think, herb is the thing that gives you a little time for
yourself, so you can live.
-Marley, Bob, 1979.
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Life Without Parole
Its just after 9 p.m. on a cold night in Shreverport Louisiana. A homeless African-
American man, Fate Winslow, approaches a man on the street and asks him what he is
looking for. The man however, is no ordinary individual, the man that Fate approaches is
an undercover cop. The cop tells him he wants two bags and promises him a $5
commission. Being homeless and in need of a meal for the night, Fate takes the officers
money and returns with two bags of marijuana, after which he is ushered into the
backseat of a patrol car. Three months later, Winslow is found guilty of selling a schedule
1 narcotic and is sentenced to life in a hard prison camp without the possibility of parole.
Winston’s fate to die behind bars for a miniscule amount of pot is hard to believe, but it is
not unique. While it would be comforting to think Fate’s was the only of its kind,
unfortunately, this is not the case. As of August 2013, there are approximately 3,278
people serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for non –violent offenses
1
according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) 2013 report. And, 79% of those
individuals are sentenced for non-violent drug offenses (ACLU 2013).
This reality is ever more shocking when considering that 23 states have legalized
the medical use of marijuana, and 3 states and the District of Columbia, have legalized
cannabis for recreational purposes for individuals over the age of 21. What do we make
of this perplexing contradictory view of marijuana as medicine on one hand, and a
criminal substance so abhorrent that we need to lock up users and sellers for the rest of
their lives on the other?
Marijuana
Some revere cannabis as the vehicle to spiritual enlightenment and consciousness
(Barrett, 1997), while others consider it to be a direct revelation from God (Morningstar,
1985; Dobkin De Rios & Winkelman, 1989: 4; see also Shannon, 2008 where Shannon
suggest Moses was under the influence of a hallucinogen when he received his visions.).
Many advocates claim marijuana has various health benefits all the way from the
treatment of asthma, multiple sclerosis, nausea and glaucoma (Grotenhermen, 2002).
Still, others condemned it as the road to perdition (Peele & Brodsky, 1997). How are we
to understand these perplexing, polarizing and seemingly contradictory opinions of a
plant that has no acute dangerous effects and which has caused no known overdoses
(Goldstein, 2001: 202)? The effects of the plant itself may be just as contradictory as the
societal reaction to its use.
People have reported feeling more relaxed and peaceful and that their thoughts
were more profound and deeper (Goode, 1970). Respondents generally describe the
2