WHICH FORMS OF MEDIA IMPACT

WEED ON TV

MUSICAL MJ BOOKS AND

VIDEO GAMES Which are the top five

songs that reference

the jolly green giant?

Showtime’s hit series

‘Weeds’ brings marijuana

to the small screen

Are these the

new anti-high?

THE USE OF MARIJUANA?

MO

NTH

LY

DECEMBER 2012

DECEMEBER 2012 MARIJUANA MONTHLY 2

DECEMEBER 2012 MARIJUANA MONTHLY 3

Books and Video Games: The Anti-High?

Has research on media exposure affecting marijuana

proven video games and books to be what keeps

adolescents away from marijuana?

Page 4

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‘Weeds’ on TV

Showtime’s hit television series ‘Weeds’ brings to the

topic of marijuana onto cable television every week.

Page 5

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Media Influence on Marijuana Use

With much research done on the topic of media

impact on the use of marijuana, which forms have

been associated with increased use?

Page 7

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Top 5 Smokin’ Songs about Marijuana

Whhich are the top five billboard charted songs

that reference marijuana?

Page 8

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DECEMEBER 2012 MARIJUANA MONTHLY 4

With the rising trend of marijuana

use amongst youth and adolescents

many parents are looking for a way

to preoccupy their children in order

to keep them away from the

influence of recreational drugs such

as cannabis itself. According to a

study by researchers

on how media

exposure affects

marijuana use.

The study showed

that both books

and video games

were related to

lowered odds of

using marijuana,

therefore books and

video games have a negative

impact on marijuana use

(Primick, 2009, p .733). Both

video games and books were

said to have negative

impacts because not

only do they take the

subjects away from

media that is associated

with positive impacts

on marijuana use, but t

hey also remove them

from situations where

use of marijuana is more likely to

occur. Although this doesn’t mean

that increasing play time of video

games or time spent reading

amongst youth will assure that

marijuana won’t be used, it’s just

a form of entertainment to keep

adolescents from situations

related to marijuana. This is just

filler text to fill in the remaining

area needed to be filled in. Thank

you for reading this article peeps.

“Books and video

games associated

with lowered odds

of marijuana use”

ARE BOOKS AND VIDEO GAMES THE ANTI-HIGH?

DECEMEBER 2012 MARIJUANA MONTHLY 5

Weeds is an American dark

comedy-drama television series

created by Jenji Kohan and

produced by Tilted Productions in

association with Lionsgate

Television. The central character

is Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise

Parker), a widowed mother of two

boys who begins selling marijuana

to support her family after her

husband dies suddenly of a heart

attack. Over the course of the show,

she and her family become more

entangled in illegal activities on an

escalating scale. The series

concluded with its eighth season on

September 16, 2012. The primary

locale of the first three seasons is in

the fictional town of Agrestic,

California. During seasons four and

five, the Botwins reside in the

fictional beachside town of Ren

Mar in San Diego County,

California. During the sixth season,

the family relocates to Seattle,

Washington before moving to

Dearborn, Michigan. In between

seasons six and seven, Nancy

serves a prison sentence in.

Connecticut while her sons and

brother-in-law live in Copenhagen,

Denmark. At the beginning of

season seven, Nancy moves into a

halfway house in New York City

where she reunites with her family.

They live in Manhattan for the

duration of the season, but relocate

to Connecticut in the season seven

finale and throughout season eight.

The show is about a mother who

deals marijuana to support her own

family because. The show debuted

on the Showtime cable network on

August 7, 2005, earning the

channel's highest ratings. The show

concluded after airing its eighth

season. In 2012, TV Guide Network

bought the airing rights, providing an

edited version of the show to

audiences free of charge. The show

has received numerous awards,

including two Satellite Awards, one

Golden Globe Award, a Writers

Guild of America Award, a Young

Artist Award, and 2 Emmy Awards.

ON TELEVISION

DECEMEBER 2012 MARIJUANA MONTHLY 6

DECEMEBER 2012 MARIJUANA MONTHLY 7

Scholars have done much

research on the topic of media

influence on marijuana use and the

results from such have shown little

to no effect on the use of marijuana

from forms of media other than

music and television. According to

Primack, Kraemer, Fine and Dalton

(2009) in a study on how media

exposure effects marijuana and

alcohol use, it was found that there

was no link

between exposure

to movies and the

use of marijuana

due to the fact that

movies were proven

to be independently

associated with

increased alcohol

use among adolescents (p. 730).

Although video games were shown

to have increased in use amongst

the younger generation due to

portable devices, the average one

hour and thirteen minutes spent

playing video games on a daily

basis was still considered low when

compared to the amount of time

spent watching TV and listening to

music (Rideout, 2010, p. 25). It was

also shown that both books and

video games were related to

lowered odds of using marijuana,

therefore books and video games

have a negative impact on marijuana

use (Primick, 2009, p .733). Both

video games and books were said to

have negative impacts because not only

do they take the subjects away from

media that is associated with positive

impacts on marijuana use, but they also

remove them from situations where use

of marijuana is more likely to occur.

This doesn’t mean that children who

play video games, watch movies or

read books don’t smoke or have never

smoked marijuana, it

only illustrates that

those who are exposed

to these forms of media

most are less likely to

use the substance.

Along with that

according to Rideout,

Foehr, and of time spent reading hard

copies of books for pleasure has

decreased by five minutes a day (p. 30).

With this being said it could be argued

that books having a negative impact on

marijuana use are becoming more and

more irrelevant. However, I would

have to say that that is incorrect. Just

because people aren’t reading as much

as they used to, I still find its negative

impact on marijuana use pertinent until

books and reading become obsolete.

This is just filler text to fill in the area

that isn’t being taken up because the

article is finished but this space needs

taking care of so thanks for reading.

Media Impact on the Use of Marijuana

Little to no effects on the

use of marijuana from

forms of media other

than music and television

DECEMEBER 2012 MARIJUANA MONTHLY 8

TOP 5 BILLBOARD CHARTED SONGS REFERENCING MARIJUANA

5 “Hits from the Bong” - Cypress Hill

4

3

2

1

“Smoke Two Joints” - Sublime

“Still it, goes down smooth when I get a clean

hit of the skunky, funky, smelly green sh*t.

Sing my song, puff all night long as I take

hits from the bong...”

“I smoke two joints a dime a piece, and two the

time before , I smoke two joints before I

smoke two joints And then I smoke two more...”

“Legalize It” - Peter Tosh “Singers smoke it, and players of instrument

too. Legalize it, yeah yeah, that's the best thing

you can do...”

“Stay High” - Three 6 Mafia “What's up Mary! Mary Jane! Since I have met you,

girl, you ruined my brain. You stole my heart,

right from the start...”

“Mary Jane” - Rick James “And when I'm feeling low, she comes as no

surprise Turns me on with her love, takes me

to paradise...”