Purity and Pollution: Cannabis as Matter Out of Place

Encounters between humans and psychoactive substances are loaded, often fraught, affairs. They are not just liminal moments of experience but are bound up with social dynamics of danger, pollution, purification, and transformation. Cannabis is no exception. Based on nine years of anthropological research, Dr. Polson will share observations on cannabis, its configuration as pollution, and how it is ritually purified in its movement to legal status. Following the presentation, Dr. Polson will engage with the Cannabis in Context Speaker Series Curator, Eric Siegel, in a moderated discussion and Q&A.

Anthropologist Dr. Michael Polson will share observations on cannabis and its journey from cultural pollutant to purified, legal substance.