Couples Who Use Cannabis Less Likely to Engage in Domestic Violence

According to a study by the University of Buffalo, “Couples
in which both spouses used marijuana frequently reported the least frequent IPV
[intimate partner violence] perpetration.”

The Washington Post reported
these findings this August, and added that “The authors studied data from 634
couples over nine years of marriage, starting in 1996. Couples were
administered regular questionnaires on a variety of issues, including
recent drug and alcohol use and instances of physical aggression toward their
spouses.”

The study took other factors into account as well; including
history of mental illness and domestic violence patterns in families.Even with
these things as considerations, the use of cannabis still turned up as a
pattern in marriages that were stable with no reports of violence. It’s also
worth noting that the study is funded by the National Institute for Drug Abuse—
which in the past has taken a very strong anti-cannabis stance. Hopefully, this
is a sign that as the tides of the country’s drug policy are finally changing
and that the NIDA are changing their tune as well.

The study cautions that the results don’t indicate that people
are less violent when under the influence of cannabis, but that people who
consider themselves to be regular users are less violent. Therefore, the study
is not saying that when couples get high together they commit les violence; it
is implying that people who use cannabis recreationally may be less prone to
angry outbursts in general, whether they are currently experiencing the effects
of the substance at the time or not.

We already know that cannabis has a mellowing effect; even
among negative stereotypes, the calm and pacified stoner is much more common than
the maniacal, violent and aggressive behavior wrongly thought of during the Reefer Madness era. Because of crazed propaganda
quite like Refer Madness, it’s completely comforting to have docile and tame qualities
associated with cannabis users confirmed in an actual scientific study
highlighted from a reputable source.