Varsity Greens: The Stigmatization of Cannabis-Using Canadian University Athletes by Alec S. J. Skillings A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Sociology University of Alberta © Alec S. J. Skillings, 2020 ii Abstract Cannabis was legalized in Canada on October 17, 2018. However, it remains prohibited in amateur sport. Canadian university athletes still face punishments for their use of cannabis such as, suspensions, loss of awards and scholarships, and social stigmatization. This thesis presents the results of 12 semi-structured qualitative interviews with Canadian university athletes. I utilized Grounded Theory methodology to produce and analyze the data. The results of these interviews indicate that Canadian university athletes use cannabis in a multiplicity of ways. They use it to manage pain, promote satiety, and aid in sleep. They also use it to manage stress and anxiety, and to promote optimal experiences in recreational and non-competitive activities. Moreover, cannabis is used socially between teammates. Athletes undergo a process of role engulfment, meaning that their role as an athlete demands so much time and energy that other roles, such as academic and social, become overwhelmed by their athletic one. In some cases, cannabis is used to manage the process of role engulfment and in other cases it may promote the process. Athletes are stigmatized for their cannabis use because of their unique prestige status. Public expectations, or virtual demands, are imposed on athletes which result in an elevated stigma if they are caught using the substance. The athletes I interviewed implemented a variety of techniques to conceal their use from the public, drug testing agencies, coaches, and teammates. The spirit of sport (SoS), or the intrinsic values of sport, is used as a criterion to determine whether a substance is to be prohibited in amateur sport. Athletes’ definitions of the SoS are similar to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s, but the interpretations of them are vastly different. Canadian university athletes do not perceive cannabis to be an unfair performance- enhancing drug. They position it closer to drugs like caffeine and ibuprofen. These perceptions iii promote the concept of fluid drugs, or the social construction of drugs. Drugs, and the stigma attached to them, are constructed as a result of social circumstances and contexts. Drugs are not neutral chemical compounds. Rather, they have been socially constructed as harmful, deviant, and contrary to the SoS. The shifting legality of cannabis in North America and around the world, along with the changing drug policies in professional leagues, like Major League Baseball, provide evidence of a changing drug milieu. Furthermore, the incongruencies between cannabis-using athletes’ perspectives on cannabis and the World Anti-Doping Agency’s is indicative that amateur sports’ cannabis policies may be lagging behind social consensus. iv Preface This thesis is an original work by Alec Skillings. The research project, of which this thesis is a part, has been reviewed for its adherence to ethical guidelines by a Research Ethics Board at the University of Alberta, Cannabis Use Amongst Canadian University Athletes, Pro00084843, October 10, 2019, renewed October 7, 2020. v Dedication “You can’t start swimming until you get in the water” -Howard Becker in Writing for Social Scientists vi Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to express a deep gratitude to each student-athlete who offered their time and energy toward this research project: Brody, Karl, Max, Josh, Sylvester, Charles, Corey, Owen, Leroy, Neil, Riley, and Mavis (pseudonyms, of course). Your unique perspectives and experiences are the constituting elements of this thesis. This research was partially funded and supported by both the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship and the University of Alberta’s Department of Sociology. I would like to thank these institutions for their financial and academic support. Thank you to my supervisor, Dr. Bryan Hogeveen. I am truly grateful for your commitments to my academic success. I appreciate your approach to supervision that gave me freedom to roam while also laying out directions to keep me on track. Your encouragement and support throughout the last several years has given me confidence in myself as a researcher. And thank you to my committee members Dr. Jay Scherer and Dr. Jana Grekul. I deeply respect each of you as both researchers and educators, and I greatly appreciate your involvement in this project. Thank you to my parents Jim and Sue, and my sister Lindsay for being an unwavering emotional support system as I stumbled and staggered through the past three years of my life. Your continual offerings of compassion, love, and encouragement provided me with the stability to finish this thesis in good spirits and health. Thank you to all other friends and family who extended positivity and support throughout this project. vii Last, I must acknowledge cannabis sativa, along with all other drugs and plants that helped me find stimulation and focus in reading and writing, introspection and reflection in analysis, and compassion in times of struggle. viii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................ vi List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... x Introduction and Background Information ............................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Cannabis, The Olympics, and WADA ......................................................................................... 6 Research Questions ...................................................................................................................... 16 Chapter One: Using a GT Methodology ................................................................................... 24 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 24 The Discovery of GT and its Various Brands............................................................................ 25 Three Major Components of GT: Construction, Reflexivity, and Iteration .......................... 27 Critiques and Limitations of GT ................................................................................................ 30 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 31 Chapter Two: Research Methods .............................................................................................. 33 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 33 Recruitment .................................................................................................................................. 33 The Participants ........................................................................................................................... 36 The Interviews .............................................................................................................................. 41 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 43 Additional Ethical Considerations and Methodological Challenges ....................................... 48 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 50 Chapter Three: How and Why Canadian University Athletes Use Cannabis ...................... 52 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 52 Physical Wellbeing ....................................................................................................................... 53 Mental Wellbeing ......................................................................................................................... 62 Social Wellbeing and Role Engulfment ...................................................................................... 67 Athletes’ Accounts of the Negative Effects of Cannabis ........................................................... 74 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 77 Chapter Four: The Stigmatization of Cannabis-Using Athletes ............................................ 80 ix Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 80 Stigma ..........................................................................................................................................