Cannabis-Related Political Discourse on Twitter: A Mixed Methods Approach

Abstract

Twitter is a widely used platform for following current events and prominent celebrities, influencers, and political leaders. Politicians use Twitter to share their viewpoints and disseminate information about legislative changes, prompting inquiries into their role in influencing public opinion on social media. This study examines a set of cannabis-related tweets ( n = 10,410) authored by current U.S. Governors and members of Congress (as of March 2022) to understand the nature of political discourse on social media. The dataset is analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics, while a subsample ( n = 1714) is subject to a qualitative thematic analysis. Most tweets are informative and neutral in tone, although some politicians use non-neutral language to convey their message. Cannabis tweets can be categorized into six themes: economy, government/governing process, public health, justice, substance use/abuse, and other. The results have implications for future research and our understanding of political discourse on social media.