havior.To them smoking marijuana is considered a bad thing. They believe smoking hurts you and makes you do irresponsible things. I was told, “smokers are rebellious people who probably have family problems.” Nonsmokers support their views byemphasizing the laws on marijuana. For the second phase of my data I studied marijuana smokers during a ‘get together’. I was allowed to observe them during a routine smoking session. The smokers started out talking and joking around. The group consisted of long time friends, coworkers, and a few people that only saw each other on occasion, but they all had one thing in common, marijuana. As they brought the marijuana out and started smoking it, they played music , talked, and them smoked some more. The whole time the smokers just laughed and joked around. I noticed that contrary to what others believe, they did not engage in reckless behavior. They did what ordinary people do when they get together. Onesmoker said, “ after a hard days work, there’s nothing like a joint to end the day,”everyone agreed. The group agreed that I was just a researcher, no one pressured me to do anything. I was seen as part of the group, they did not care if I smoked or not, Iwas accepted. They saw me as a friend because I was not quick to judge them. I sawfor myself that the views others had toward them were false. The data I collected illustrated many sociological concepts. Deviance is any violation of norms or values. It is not in the act but in the reactions to the act. So,deviance is an act to which others respond negatively. Nonsmokers see marijuanasmokers as deviants simply because smokers participate in an activity in which they do not. The nonsmokers respond negatively since they believe smokers violate the values of health and the norms of behavior. The smokers do not think they violate any values or norms, they believe they are the same as cigarette smokers. Mariju...
