© 2021 Connie J. Pascal ALL RIGHTS RESERVED EXPLORING THE INFORMATION PRACTICES OF CANNABIS NURSES By CONNIE J. PASCAL A dissertation submitted to the School of Graduate Studies Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Information, Communication, and Media Studies Written under the direction of Kaitlin Costello And approved by ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey January, 2021 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Exploring the Information Practices of Cannabis Nurses by CONNIE J. PASCAL Dissertation Director: Kaitlin Costello As the therapeutic use of cannabis increases, Americans are turning to nurses as sources of information about the safe and effective therapeutic use of cannabis. This study uses qualitative methods to explore how 31 highly educated and experienced American nurses used information practices to connect and interact with sources of cannabis information. By answering the question “What are information practices of cannabis nurses?,” the study addresses an unexplored gap in the research conversation among information scientists, nurse educators, and medicinal cannabis researchers. The aim of this study is to better understand cognitive authority and to examine how these nurses used information practices to learn how to be cannabis nurses. The study design used the McKenzie Information Practices Model (MIP) for data collection and analysis. The MIP model helped produce a rich description of the information practices of cannabis nurses. Findings show that cannabis nurses are using their information practices to locate cognitive authorities—that is, sources of secondhand knowledge whose facts and data about cannabis the nurses believed to be true. Findings also indicate that the nurses’ information practices create serendipitous social situations where they could reveal themselves as possible cognitive authorities for other cannabis information seekers. The ii analysis also produced findings concerning the barriers to learning the nurses encountered and their shared interpretative repertories—especially regarding the continued stigma against cannabis use. In addition, findings indicate, the cannabis nurses are acting as boundary spanners and peripheral specialists in the adoption of cannabis as a radical innovation in mainstream healthcare. This analysis also revealed the absence of cannabis care–specific information technology and decision support systems and the development of a network of practice. The implications are that cannabis nurses may be normalizing cannabis for their colleagues, a dynamic that may be leading to the adoption of cannabis therapeutics in mainstream medicine. Keywords: boundary spanner, cannabis care, cannabis nurses, cognitive authority, firsthand experience, information grounds, information practices, information seeking, information work, network of practice, secondhand knowledge, social practices iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS After a long and somewhat circuitous journey, I feel like I have arrived at the right place at the right time with the right topic—and I would not be here without the concerted and unfailing support of so many who believed I could do this. I am privileged to have had an amazing dissertation committee whose enthusiastic support made all the difference in getting my somewhat controversial topic approved. Without their initial support of my topic, my dissertation would not have been written, as this is one of the first dissertations at Rutgers to focus on cannabis as research topic. This work would not be what it is without them. Lao-Tzu is reported to have said a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, and I’d like to give my heartfelt thanks to Claire McInerney—my mentor, committee chair, and advisor—for helping me take that first step toward my PhD, lo those many years ago. Without Claire’s stewardship, I would not have completed this work or have achieved my lifelong goal of earning my PhD. I have benefited enormously from the support, wisdom, incredible feedback, and friendship of Kaitlin Costello. Not only did Kaitlin step in as my committee chair when asked, but their advice has also vastly upped my scholarly game (“analyze—don’t summarize”) and helped me feel like my work could meaningfully contribute to the research conversation. I am deeply indebted to Michael Lesk for his unwavering support throughout my PhD journey, both for being on my dissertation committee and for helping me get through my qualifying exams—which was a struggle. I am also hugely grateful to Charles Senteio for stepping in to my PhD committee and for always encouraging me to continue. Finally, I am extremely appreciative for the support of Carey Clark, whose endorsement made this dissertation possible. Carey’s experience as a cannabis nurse and a national leader in iv cannabis care made it possible for me to attract an amazing population of cannabis nurses. Carey’s guidance in my research design and in coding the data has been invaluable and helped me feel confident in the credibility of the data. The School of Communication and Information at Rutgers is an amazing place to work, and I have been enormously fortunate to have received the support of a wonderful group of co-workers, colleagues, and supporters. I would especially like to thank Assistant Dean Karen Novick for her unwavering support of my academic pursuits and for encouraging me to put my graduate work first—and then making it possible for me to earn a living teaching and working with my beloved students. I have been guided along my PhD journey by amazing SC&I scholars and faculty members. A big thank-you to Warren Allen, Mike Doyle, Claire McInerney, Lilia Pavlovsky, Marie Radford, Sharon Stoerger, and Ross Todd for being great people to work for and for helping me find a way to teach full time and still finish my degree and complete my dissertation. I would also like to acknowledge the remarkable faculty members I have had the privilege of studying with throughout my PhD program and who have become my cognitive authorities. As an interdisciplinary scholar, I had the opportunity to study with faculty from across this school. This breadth of knowledge has greatly shaped my worldview. Thanks especially to Mark Aakhus, Jack Bratich, Marija Dalbello, Marya Doerfel, Jenn Gibbs, Mor Naaman, Laurie Lewis, Dan O’Connor, Joe Sanchez, Craig Scott, Chirag Shah, Aram Sinnreich, and Nina Wachholder for all that they did to help me become a PhD in Communication, Information, and Media Studies. v A huge shoutout to the SC&I staff who have been part of my Program Assistant work. Many, many thanks to Narda Acevedo Elizabeth Ciccone, Linda Dondero, Kathy Frauenheim, Carol Peters, Jon Oliver, Brenda Sheridan, Vicki White, and George Yu for all their help over the years—I literally could not have done my various jobs at SC&I without you! Special thanks to Rutgers colleagues and coworkers Lori Dars and Sharon Stoerger for their constant encouragement, and for the many, many times they have indulged me in conversations about my research. To my SC&I students—the rewards I get from being your teacher are the best part of being part of the SC&I family. You never cease to amaze me with your hard work, brilliant minds, and resiliency—especially in light of what you are all now faced with— and you have inspired me to keep going on this journey. To all my fellow SC&I alumni, doctoral students, and friends—too many to list without fear of leaving someone out—you have made me laugh, made me cry, inspired me, challenged me, and taught me things I didn’t know existed! I am truly blessed to have such an amazing array of people in my world and my research, and my life reflects what I have learned from all you. Finally, I received invaluable support for this research from the executive committee of the American Cannabis Nurses Association and Cannabis Nurses Network, especially from Carey Clark, Barbara Ochester, and Heather Manus. Thanks also to Colorado State University – Institute for Cannabis Research for giving me a chance to present information science at a cannabis conference. vi DEDICATION To my husband. Jeff Pascal, you are amazing. You picked me up when I was down, helped me heal when I had Lyme, and said “go for it” when I said I wanted to quit my good corporate job and go back to school to get my advanced degree. You did this in good humor and with little complaint. You have listened to me going on about how hard quals were and encouraged me to keep working on my PhD . saying you “couldn’t wait to be married to a doctor.” You never complain about how messy the house is or how much time I spend in my office and in my head. You listen to me outwardly express my theories and do an excellent job of feigning interest. Most of all, you have been my strong, funny, steadfast supporter, telling me I could and should do a PhD, and then doing everything in your power to make sure that PhD happened. It is time to celebrate; you earned this degree right along with me. Thank you. I love you. To my son Cameron and one of the coolest people I know. I love that you have turned out to be such a good man and a talented software guy. I love that we can readily engage in all kinds of theoretical discussions—especially on the virtues of information science versus those of computer science. Thank you for always supporting me and letting me know that your friends thought I was cool, and better yet—a good professor. Thank you for your patience and for loving a mom who was too distracted with her software startup to put your baby pictures in an album.