Self-Esteem and Subjective Effects during Marijuana Intoxication

Abstract

This study tests the hypothesis that persons varying in self-esteem have different expectations about “getting high” and therefore have different experiences while high. Experienced marijuana users responded to a questionnaire containing Rosenbergs (1965) self-esteem scale and Tart's (1971) items to measure marijuana effects. It was found that low self-esteem respondents were more likely than high self-esteem respondents to report becoming less inhibited, more sociable and more spontaneous when high. They were also more likely to experience anxiety about losing control. The results suggest that for low self-esteem persons, whose ordinary state of consciousness is generally unpleasant, getting high is an “excuse” for moving into a euphoric state. Because this transformation is so dramatic, getting high is more likely to cause anxiety among persons with low as compared to high self-esteem.