Perception of "Soft" Drugs among Young People

The purpose of this study was to identify the main causes and sources of young people's loyal attitude to cannabinoid-type drugs. Proceeding from the fact that the interpretation of the essential characteristics and the status of the problematic nature of the same or similar phenomena of the surrounding reality, including drugs, varies greatly when referring to different groups of persons or to witnesses representing the opinions of representatives of different eras, the author adheres to the impossibility of assuming the objective nature social problem. Thus, the deproblematization of narcotic substances of the cannabinoid group was considered as the result of constructing an appropriate image, stemming primarily from the activities of specific groups of people in putting forward appropriate claims of a demanding nature, characterized by the use of certain rhetoric and promotion channels. The practical proposals for the study of social problems put forward by P. Ibarra and J. Kitsyuz in the article “Discourse on the nomination of claims and demands and colloquial resources” were taken as an implied conceptual framework of the research. As part of the study, 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of young people loyal to the full or partial legalization of drugs of the cannabinoid group.