While many already believed that the smoking of marijuana renders users content and contemplative, a recent study actually proves that it may have beneficial influences in ones’ marriage.
According to the study, if both wife and husband are marijuana smokers, the chances of family violence are reduced in the relationship. This reduction is attributed to a potentially blunted emotional reaction.
The study conducted by the University of Buffalo shows that partners in a relationship that use marijuana together are less likely to abuse each other.
After having tracked the relationship between marijuana use and partner interactions, researchers concluded that marijuana smokers were “more peaceful” in their interactions. Frequent marijuana use by both husband and wife was a negative violence predictor (the chance that husbands perpetrate violence was smaller than in husbands who did not consume the substance). Moreover, the husband’s marijuana use also influenced the wife’s behavior. Apparently, it also predicted less frequent violence perpetration by female spouses.
As opposed to other studies that were inconclusive, the current study has clearly outlined that the least amount of violence in married relationships occurred if both partners were frequent marijuana consumers.
The study included 634 couples that were followed over a period of time that began in 1996. It included alcohol and drug use information, as well as physical violence.
The study was conducted under the promise that no information would be made public and as such, respondents of the survey honestly portrayed information about their physical abuse. Both abusers and abused described their experience in the survey.
As a result, researchers could analyze if marijuana did indeed have an impact on relationship interactions. According to the scientists conducting the study, repeated and frequent marijuana use increases positive affect and this in turn reduces the chance that conflict or aggression arises between husband and wife.
While it is unclear if the physical violence likelihood is reduced due to a relative numbness that users experience or if the source of arguments is smoothed after marijuana smoking. It seems that the likelihood of aggressive behavior is reduced by the blunted emotional reactions that marijuana users show.
However, the study failed to discuss an important matte. There is an increase in stimuli perceptions if both partners have used marijuana. Particularly, some believe that there is a positive connection between marijuana smoking and having connected sex. This in turn could represent yet another reason for which these couples aren’t as aggressive to each other as couples that do not smoke weed.