Don’t rely on weed laws to change student views: almost 93 per cent say the law doesn’t deter them

Instituting cannabis laws will likely have little effect on students, suggests a new study out of New Zealand that found using weed is part of their culture and no amount of rulemaking and finger-wagging is likely to change that.

Researchers at the University of Otago wanted to explore drug acceptability views among students and find out whether or not cannabis law in New Zealand, where recreational weed is illegal, has any influence on their use of marijuana.

The answer? Not really, notes a university news release.

Published in Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, the findings indicate that consuming cannabis has been normalized in student culture, says Kirsten Robertson, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of marketing at the university.

That seems borne out by the 82 per cent of students who report their peers had used cannabis before, and about half that, 39 per cent, who note their peers used weed regularly.

As for availability, again despite recreational cannabis being illegal, the vast majority of students reported it “is very easy to acquire and is readily available at typical social occasions,” Robertson points out.

The vast majority of students reported cannabis “is very easy to acquire and is readily available at typical social occasions.” / Photo: DisobeyArt / iStock / Getty Images Plus DisobeyArt / iStock / Getty Images Plus

And with regard to how cannabis law, 92.7 per cent of students stated that it does not deter them partaking. “Some students reported forgetting that recreational cannabis is illegal, perceiving cannabis use to feel legal, and that they do not view cannabis use as a crime,” the press release states.

Even on the off-chance that they are caught consuming, students’ perceptions and experience have been that consequences are minimal, with police tending to turn a blind eye, says study co-author Karen Tustin, part of the university’s Department of Psychology.

Given the student-reported views, Robertson and Tustin suggest the attitudes of young people toward weed highlight the ineffectiveness of cannabis law.

Even on the off-chance that they got caught consuming, students’ perceptions and experience have been that consequences are minimal, with police tending to turn a blind eye. / Photo: Gleti / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Photo: Gleti / iStock / Getty Images Plus

“Internationally, informal controls, rather than the law, have been found to shape cannabis use by creating a threshold for normalization,” notes the study abstract.

The study revealed some fairly specific views among students about their peers. Those who abstained were viewed as being studious, but less sociable; those who consumed moderately were generally regarded as social or “normal” and heavy users were seen negatively, such as being “underachievers, unreliable, and unhealthy.”

Researchers are hopeful that by demonstrating that prohibition is ineffective, findings “can inform discussion on New Zealand’s upcoming cannabis referendum,” which is now set for Oct. 17.

“Our findings revealed that cannabis use is not controlled by the law, but by informal thresholds of control.” / Photo: Tero Vesalainen / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Photo: Tero Vesalainen / iStock / Getty Images Plus

“Our findings revealed that cannabis use is not controlled by the law, but by informal thresholds of control,” the researchers note in the study abstract. “We argue that policy must be informed by, and build on, these informal controls.”

Additionally, given student’s views, “we think public policy should focus on strengthening social norms that discourage heavy use,” Tustin says. “We believe our findings support a harm-minimization strategy and, specifically, a health model, for regulating recreational use of cannabis,” Robertson adds.