Couples Who Smoke Marijuana Together are Less Likely to be Violent

Similar to a drinking relationship, married couples who smoke marijuana together are less likely to be engaged in domestic violence, found a new research. Looking at 634 US couples over the first nine years of their marriage, the research found that more frequent marijuana use by husbands and wives predicted less frequent intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration by husbands.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious, preventable public health problem that affects millions of people. The term is defined as actual physical, sexual, psychological, emotional or stalking abuse by an intimate partner. This type of violence can occur among heterosexual or same-sex couples and does not require sexual intimacy.

“It is possible that couples who use marijuana together may share similar values and social circles and it is this similarity that is responsible for reducing the likelihood of conflict,” explained Kenneth Leonard, director of the University at Buffalo's (UB).

The research attempted to clarify inconsistent findings about domestic violence among pot-smoking couples that primarily has been based on cross-sectional data (i.e., data from one point in time).

It found that husbands' marijuana use also predicted less frequent IPV perpetration by wives. Couples in which both spouses used marijuana frequently reported the least frequent IPV perpetration.

The study appeared online in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

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Source-Medindia