The Differential Disinhibition Effect of Marijuana Use on Violent Behavior

Abstract

The following Kaplan/Damphouse hypothesis was tested and cross validated: The use of marijuana either predicts to or has a greater effect on increasing the degree of violent behavior for a group that is low on delinquent behavior, than it does for a group that scores high on these behaviors. For the conventional, non-delinquent sub-group, a higher degree of significant relationship between degree of marijuana use and degree of violent behavior was found, compared to the degree of this type of relationship than was found for either cocaine/crack use, amphetamine use, or tranquilizer/sedative use. For example, for the commission of the offense of Attempted Homicide/Reckless Endangerment: for the conventional, non-delinquent group there was a highly significant relationship to the degree of marijuana use; but there was a non-significant relationship between this type of offense and the degree of use of each of the other types of drugs. Thus, this special disinhibition effect was found only for marijuana, and not for other drugs, regardless of whether they were stimulant types of drugs, or were sedative drugs.

The Effect of Neighborhood Context on the Relationship Between Substance Misuse and Weapons Aggression in Urban Adolescents Seeking ED Care

“…Insofar as marijuana does not have a clear physiological basis associated with violence, it may be part of the common causes associated with problem behavior theory (Jessor, 1991), with this finding indicating that problem behaviors cluster differently under different circumstances. These results are consistent with Friedman et al (2003) who found that marijuana has a larger effect on propensity for violence in individuals at lower risk for delinquent behavior. This finding gives evidence against the notion that community disorganization is the fundamental cause of the connection between adolescent marijuana misuse and their violent behavior.…”

“…In particular, alcohol use has been identified as an important risk factor for youth violence, aggression, and weapon related behaviors (Borowsky, Ireland, & Resnick, 2002; Carter et al, 2013; Chermack & Blow, 2002; Chermack, Wryobeck, Walton, & Blow, 2006; Ellickson, Tucker, & Klein, 2003; Loh et al, 2010; Rivara et al, 1997; Swahn & Donovan, 2004; Walton et al, 2009) and marijuana use has been identified as an important correlate of youth firearm possession, carriage and future violent perpetration (Dawkins, 1997; Friedman, Glassman, & Terras, 2001; Loh et al, 2010; Steinman & Zimmerman, 2003; Sussman, Simon, Dent, Steinberg, & Stacy, 1999; van den Bree & Pick-worth, 2005; Walton et al, 2009). These associations can be explained through a combination of the substances’ psychotropic effects (Bushman & Cooper, 1990; Friedman, Terras, & Glassman, 2003), the monetary commitment required to sustain regular substance use that may not be available to adolescents through nonviolent means (Friedman et al, 2001), and/or through theories on the clustering of problematic behaviors (Jessor, 1991). …”

Persistency of Cannabis Use Predicts Violence following Acute Psychiatric Discharge

“…Unlike studies of other drugs, the cannabis–violence relationship has provided controversial results ( 18 ). Cannabis use has often been found to have a positive link with aggressive behaviors both in cross-sectional and in longitudinal studies ( 18 – 24 ). For instance, results from the longitudinal Dunedin Study, which examined the relative risk for violence among different psychiatric disorders, indicated that after controlling for confounding variables such as other psychiatric disorders or other substance misuses (including alcohol dependence), marijuana-dependent individuals were 3.8 times more likely to report violence than controls ( 25 ).…”

Cannabis use and violence: Is there a link?

“…In addition to the cross-sectional studies, which are less useful as a basis for inferring causal relationships [16], the relatively few longitudinal studies have produced somewhat mixed findings. White and Hansell [17]; Brook et al [18]; Fergusson et al [19]; Marie et al [20]; and Friedman et al [21,22] found a positive association between cannabis use and violent behaviour after adjustment for confounding factors, whereas Green et al [23] did not. Although all these studies did include control variables, there is always the risk of remaining residual confounding.…”