The normalisation of cannabis use among young people in Malta

Abstract

The concept of the normalisation of drug use first developed in Britain during the 1990s when the availability of a range of substances grew, matched by an increase in recreational drug use and a wider acceptance of it. Research has suggested that cannabis use is no longer linked to subculture experiences and has become a normal option for young people to feel accepted in social groups, therefore, in contrast with the past, the use of cannabis is not an activity linked solely to specific social classes, subcultures or delinquent acts. This research aims to analyse whether young people’s cannabis use has become normalised in Malta, by assessing Parker, Williams and Aldridge’s (2002) five key dimensions for normalisation to be considered namely the access and availability of the drug, lifetime prevalence of drug use, recent and regular drug use, the cultural accommodation of drug use and the social accommodation or attitudes towards drug use and drug users. The study adopts a quantitative approach. The online questionnaire was completed by 128 participants, whose ages range from eighteen to thirty. The findings indicate that the use of cannabis has become normalised in the lifestyle of the young people who participated in the research. The study concludes with general recommendations for further research on the normalisation of cannabis use on the Maltese Islands.