“I'd say, ‘smoke a little weed, you'll feel better:’” ethnographic observations of cannabis use in the Canadian Arctic
Peter Collings, Elspeth Ready
SSM - Mental Health October 28, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100536 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Inuit men in a Canadian Inuit settlement |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Substance use Mental health Men's health Inuit Arctic |
| Key findings | Argues that social cannabis use among Inuit men serves as a culturally appropriate form of support and a pathway for circulating cash and information, reflecting the persistence of traditional healing practices and Inuit understandings of personhood and stress. The authors contend these positive social and psychological functions coexist with negative health effects and the economic and interpersonal consequences of excessive use. |
Abstract
This paper is an ethnographic description of cannabis use in a Canadian Inuit settlement. Cannabis is pervasive in Inuit communities, and both Inuit and public health authorities see it as a serious health and social problem. There is a general understanding that Inuit smoke cannabis to cope with stressors, but little investigation why Inuit choose cannabis instead of other options for managing stress. We describe how cannabis is a pathway through which cash and information circulate in communities, focusing on how smoking cannabis socially provides culturally appropriate forms of support for men experiencing stress. The interpersonal interactions occurring in the context of social cannabis use suggest persistence of traditional healing practices despite historical suppression, revealing how Inuit understandings of personhood and stress continue to shape how men offer support to one another. The positive social and psychological functions of cannabis, however, exist alongside the negative health effects and the economic and interpersonal consequences of excessive use.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychoactive substances as a last resort—a qualitative study of self-treatment of migraine and cluster headaches Users of online forums discussing cluster headache and migraine treatments | 2017 | Qualitative thematic analysis | |
| Psychoactive drug or mystical incense? Overview of the online available information on Spice products Web pages related to Spice products | 2009 | Qualitative study | n = 200 |
| Patterns, Trends, and Meanings of Drug Use by Dance-drug Users in Edinburgh, Scotland Clubbers in clubs and pre-club bars | 2004 | Cross-sectional survey with focus groups | n = 124 |
| Fascination and Social Togetherness-Discussions about Spice Smoking on a Swedish Internet Forum. Swedish internet forum users who posted reports about Spice intoxication | 2013 | Qualitative study | n = 40 |
| Cannabis as entheogen: survey and interview data on the spiritual use of cannabis. Participants recruited from seven online communities, median age 33, 81% male | 2020 | Mixed methods (qualitative interviews and quantitative survey) | n = 319 |