“Overdried, Without Curing? F*Ck, this [Is Supposed to be] Government Licensed Skunk!” Medical Cannabis and the Refracted Publics Within an Online Polish Drug Forum

This research is supported by the Polish National Science Centre (NCN) grant 2021/43/B/HS6/00710.

In this article, we analyze a Polish drug forum as a refracted public by focusing on the intersection of the digital space and illicit substances. To illuminate the reception of the medical cannabis industry in the social worlds of people who use cannabis, we apply qualitative thematic analysis of the content of the major Polish drug forum. The results reveal that there has been a widespread subcultural accommodation of medical cannabis for non-therapeutic use in the form of a backchannel about the quality of cannabis products and ways of obtaining it. We observed the emergence of reflexive narratives, where traditional cultural framing of cannabis as a source of fun and pleasure converged with a narrative of medical purposes and advice counteracting potential harms. The forum holds the emerging cannabis industry “accountable” and accumulates knowledge for the consumers that is otherwise lacking due to the illicit or stigmatized nature of cannabis in Poland. Examining digitally enabled discussions sheds light on the possible social accommodation of cannabis ahead of important societal and legislative transformations.