Given the Greenlight in Detroit: Photographic illustrations of themes developed during medical marijuana research

Background:  In 2008, Michigan joined 16 other states allowing for medical use of marijuana.  Implementation of the laws has been inconsistent across the state.  A bill before the Michigan Senate allows municipalities to decide whether marijuana dispensaries, not allowed under current state law, could be opened in their jurisdictions.  Such a change would contribute to geographic variation.  Methods:  As Bourgois and Schonberg (2009) show, combined photography and ethnography is a powerful way to reveal variable effects of policy across groups.  This study involves the use of photography alongside ethnography to document patterns of marijuana use in the wake of the 2008 legislation.  The photographic display illustrates themes developed during interviews with 55 (on-going) users on self-reported patterns of seeking, purchasing and use.  Preferences for modes of administration and location of use are recorded, as well as social patterns, medical reasons, and health impacts of use. Results:  Findings suggest persistent racialized divisions between urban and suburban users in terms of reasons for use and adoption of medicalized terminology, accompanied by divergent beliefs concerning origin and quality of marijuana types.  These findings are compared to research on legal marijuana purchasing (Aggarwal, 2013; Smith, 2013), heroin purchasing (Roddy and Greenwald, 2009; Roddy, Steinmiller and Greenwald, 2011) and crack purchasing (Roddy and Draus, working paper). Conclusions:  Current policies in Michigan and Detroit perpetuate inconsistent knowledge regarding benefits and detriments of use.  The data is part of a larger investigation examining racial and spatial differences in marijuana purchasing and use in metropolitan Detroit.