Exploring the onto-politics of cannabis: Shifting drug policies and understandings in Norway

摘要

All facets of cannabis use – that is, use rates, use contexts, use modes, and user groups – are influenced by multiple factors, reflecting in practice Duff’s argument that there is considerable diversity in how cannabisis constructed as an object of knowledge and practice (Duff, 2016). Furthermore, these conceptual shifts from understanding cannabis as one drug – a singular substance with a consistent identity regardless of how it may be consumed (Duff, 2016) – have been accompanied by recent substantive changes in the factors influencing its use. First and foremost, these include political frameworks concerning the legal status of cannabis around the globe. These legal shifts have precipitated numerous other changes, both foreseen and unforeseen. For example, a range of novel cannabis products has entered the market and their availability (Bretteville-Jensen, 2019) and accessibility has increased through the internet and social media (Demant et al., 2019). These novel products, such as edibles, vape pens, body lotion, eye drops etc. both reflect and generate novel intake modes. Even the traditional herbal cannabis has changed, with significant increase in tetrahydrocannabinol content since 2010 (Bachs & Havig, 2019).