"I didn’t just become a pot head mom..."

I didn’t just become a pot head mom; I actually went through a process of social check points to come to the conclusion that it was socially acceptable. A professor from University of Illinois named Howard Becker actually did a study of the social process of smoking pot, and according to him not just everyone can be a pot head. He first explains to us that any given behavior in an individual is a result of social experiences in which a person determines the meaning of the behavior, and makes a judgment on whether or not that behavior is acceptable. So we are in essence, a spitting image of what experiences we have encountered, both ones that we have turned away and accepted. Now, much like everything else there is an initial exposure to the drug, also known as being a “noob”. Becker explains that during this time one gets offered to try the drug, and in his study of fifty different “users” most of them explained that first time users don’t get high, or don’t feel the effects from of drug. This could be because of ignorance on how to smoke weed or amount smoked. And even after the first stage a lot of people depending of their level of expectation combined with their results will either pursue the drug again or decide it’s not acceptable. He also encountered individuals who had smoked the drug, but were not able to identify the effects of the drug. This could be due to a certain amount of anticipation or expectancy of desired effects. This brings us to the next social stage; one has to be able to identify the drug with the neurological and physical effects. Many may not feel it because they expect something different, or some may amplify it and have a psycho schematic high which gets really weird. That’s never happened to me though. And last thing mom, you have to be able to enjoy the desired effects of the high, which I guess you either failed or didn’t reach. Only After this whole social process, can one be labeled a “pot smoker”. Of course there are different variations to pot users, ones who have different views on what’s acceptable and what’s not. And it’s the latter point that I believe actually determines a “pot head” from a “pot user”.