A gateway to nature: Teenagers' narratives on smoking marijuana outdoors

Increasingly, many youth are disconnected from the natural world; rather, they inhabit a technological world. Although experiences in nature have long been a source of fascination, little is known about how youth independently access and make sense of nature. We focus on the experiences of youth who chose to use marijuana in nature. A substance such as marijuana is often viewed as a “gateway” leading to “harder” drug use; rarely do we consider how marijuana might be a gateway to positive experiences. Narrative analysis was used to explore how young people, aged 14–18, describe their marijuana use in nature, an important aspect of the culture and context of marijuana use. Youth's constructions of nature are revealed in four narratives in which they situate themselves: freedom in nature, the pleasure of leisure, in awe of the natural world and making meaning of the world. One subnarrative, flowing through space, was also uncovered. The findings point to the importance of these nature experiences for youth who expressed how they were able to be in nature in new ways. Participants articulated their yearning for and ability to establish a connection within their natural world.