Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T07:41:50.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 26 - Cannabis Use and Violence

from Part VIII - Special Topics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2023

By
Giulia Trotta ,
Paolo Marino ,
Victoria Rodriguez ,
Robin M. Murray  and
Evangelos Vassos
Edited by
Deepak Cyril D'Souza ,
David Castle  and
Sir Robin Murray
Deepak Cyril D'Souza
Affiliation:
Staff Psychiatrist, VA Connecticut Healthcare System; Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine
David Castle
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania, Australia
Sir Robin Murray
Affiliation:
Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, Psychosis Service at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust; Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry
Get access

Summary

Does cannabis use play a causal role in subsequent violence? The available research suggests an association between cannabis use and risk of being a perpetrator of violence. Indeed, cannabis users are at increased risk of carrying out severe violence, including aggravated assault, sexual aggression, fighting, and robbery. There is also evidence on the association between cannabis use and subsequent victimization (e.g., intimate partner violence). Individuals with severe mental disorders also show an incremented risk of violence, considering their higher rate of cannabis use compared to the general population. Possible mechanisms underlying this association involve (1) the neurobiological effect of the substance after acute use, but also during abstinence and withdrawal, and (2) social factors, such as the violent/criminal lifestyles of cannabis users. However, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of the current literature. Most available studies are cross-sectional and retrospective, so it remains difficult to disentangle the direction of the association. Despite that, cannabis use may be a useful preventive intervention target, particularly among at-risk groups such as psychiatric patients.

Keywords

cannabiscannabinoidscausationassociationviolenceaggravated assaultsexual aggressioncrimeintoxicationabstinence and withdrawal
Type
Chapter
Information
Marijuana and Madness , pp. 279 - 284
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aebi, M. F., and Tiago, M. M. (2020). Prisons and prisoners in Europe in pandemic times: An evaluation of the short-term impact of the COVID-19 on prison populations. Universite de Lausanne (Junio): 1–17.Google Scholar
Afifi, T. O., Henriksen, C. A., Asmundson, G. J. G., et al. (2012). Victimization and perpetration of intimate partner violence and substance use disorders in a nationally representative sample. J Nervous Mental Dis, 200, 684–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amaro, H., Fried, L. E., Cabral, H., et al. (1990). Violence during pregnancy and substance use. Am J Public Health, 80, 575–579.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van de Baan, F. C., Montanari, L., Royuela, L., et al. (2022). Prevalence of illicit drug use before imprisonment in Europe: Results from a comprehensive literature review. Drugs Educ Prevent Policy, 29, 1–12.Google Scholar
Blitstein, J. L., Murray, D. M., Lytle, L. A., et al. (2005). Predictors of violent behavior in an early adolescent cohort: Similarities and differences across genders. Health Educ Behav, 32, 175–194.Google Scholar
Bloomfield, M. A. P., Hindocha, C., Green, S. F., et al. (2019). The neuropsychopharmacology of cannabis: A review of human imaging studies. Pharmacol Ther, 195, 132–161.Google Scholar
Brook, J. S., Lee, J. Y., Finch, S. J., et al. (2014). Developmental trajectories of marijuana use from adolescence to adulthood: Relationship with using weapons including guns. Aggress Behav, 40, 229–237.Google Scholar
Bujarski, S. J., McDaniel, C. E., Lewis, S. F., et al. (2016). Past-month marijuana use is associated with self-reported violence among trauma-exposed adolescents. J Child Adolesc Subst Abuse, 26, 111–118.Google Scholar
Crane, C. A., Oberleitner, L. M. S., Devine, S., et al. (2014). Substance use disorders and intimate partner violence perpetration among male and female offenders. Psychol Violence, 4, 322–333.Google Scholar
Dellazizzo, L., Potvin, S., Beaudoin, M., et al. (2019). Cannabis use and violence in patients with severe mental illnesses: A meta-analytical investigation. Psychiatry Res, 274, 42–48.Google Scholar
Dellazizzo, L., Potvin, S., Dou, B. Y., et al. (2020). Association between the use of cannabis and physical violence in youths: A meta-analytical investigation. Am J Psychiatry, 177, 619–626.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Di Forti, M., Quattrone, D., Freeman, T. P., et al. (2019). The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (EU-GEI): A multicentre case-control study. The Lancet Psychiatry 6, 427–436.Google Scholar
ESPAD. (2019). Results from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs. Available at: https://europa.eu/!Xy37DU. Last accessed 23 November 2021.Google Scholar
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. (2021). European Drug Report Trends and Developments. Lisbon: EMCDDA.Google Scholar
Fazel, S., Gulati, G., Linsell, L., et al. (2009). Schizophrenia and violence: Systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Med, 6, e1000120.Google Scholar
Gibbs, M., Winsper, C., Marwaha, S., et al. (2015). Cannabis use and mania symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord, 171, 39–47.Google Scholar
Grest, C. V., Amaro, H., and Unger, J. (2018). Longitudinal predictors of intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization in Latino emerging adults. J Youth Adolesc, 47, 560–574.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krug, E. G., Dahlberg, L. L., Mercy, J. A., et al. (2002). World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Lim, J. Y., and Lui, C. K. (2016). Longitudinal associations between substance use and violence in adolescence through adulthood. J Social Work Pract Addict, 16, 72–92.Google Scholar
López-Pelayo, H., Batalla, A., Balcells, M. M., et al. (2015). Assessment of cannabis use disorders: A systematic review of screening and diagnostic instruments. Psychol Med, 45, 1121–1133.Google Scholar
Miettunen, J., Murray, G. K., Jones, P. B., et al. (2014). Longitudinal associations between childhood and adulthood externalizing and internalizing psychopathology and adolescent substance use. Psychol Med, 44, 1727–1738.Google Scholar
Moore, T. H., Zammit, S., Lingford-Hughes, A., et al. (2007). Cannabis use and risk of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes: A systematic review. Lancet, 370, 319–328.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moore, T. M., and Stuart, G. L. (2005). A review of the literature on marijuana and interpersonal violence. Aggress Violent Behav, 10, 171–192.Google Scholar
Morojele, N. K., and Brook, J. S. (2006). Substance use and multiple victimisation among adolescents in South Africa. Addict Behav, 31, 1163–1176.Google Scholar
Murray, R. M., and Hall, W. (2020). Will legalization and commercialization of cannabis use increase the incidence and prevalence of psychosis? JAMA Psychiatry, 77, 777–778.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pedersen, W., and Skardhamar, T. (2010). Cannabis and crime: Findings from a longitudinal study. Addiction, 105, 109–118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schlienz, N. J., Budney, A. J., Lee, D. C., et al. (2017). Cannabis withdrawal: A review of neurobiological mechanisms and sex differences. Curr Addict Rep, 4, 75–81.Google Scholar
Silva, R. J. D. S., Soares, N. M. M., and Cabral De Oliveira, A. C. (2014). Factors associated with violent behavior among adolescents in northeastern Brazil. Sci World J, 2014, 863918.Google Scholar
Smith, P. H., Homish, G. G., Leonard, K. E., et al. (2013). Marijuana withdrawal and aggression among a representative sample of U.S. marijuana users. Drug Alcohol Depend, 132, 63–68.Google Scholar
Smith, P. H., Homish, G. G., Lorraine Collins, R., et al. (2014). Couples’ marijuana use is inversely related to their intimate partner violence over the first 9 years of marriage. Psychol Addict Behav, 28, 734–742.Google Scholar
Stuart, A., and Rich, J. D. J. (eds.) (2018). Drug Use in Prisoners: Epidemiology, Implications, and Policy Responses. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Stuart, H. (2003). Violence and mental illness: An overview. World Psychiatry, 2, 121.Google Scholar
Testa, M., Livingston, J. A., and Leonard, K. E. (2003). Women’s substance use and experiences of intimate partner violence: A longitudinal investigation among a community sample. Addict Behav, 28, 1649–1664.Google Scholar
United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime. (2019). UNODC World Drug Report 2019. Available at: https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2019/index.html. Last accessed 3 November 2022.Google Scholar
World Drug Report. (2021). UNODC World Drug Report 2021. Available at: www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/wdr2021.html. Last accessed 23 November 2021.Google Scholar
World Health Organization. (2016). Prevention of Violence: Public Health Priority. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/179463. Last accessed 24 November 2021.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×