Does cannabis use increase violent behavior?
The answer to the question varies, as enough research on the matter continues to be lacking. Opinions are divided, with many marijuana users claiming pot helps them relax and enter into a calmer state of mind. Nevertheless, we shouldn't forget that weed is also known to cause anxiety and paranoia, which some contend can cause aggressive conduct.
Perhaps the answer lies in something the great Serbian psychiatrist, psychotherapist, philosopher and writer, Vladeta Jerotić, used to say in regards to alcohol. He advised never to drink when are you in any kind of distress, only when you are in a good mood. Alcohol, he believed, only inflates the current feelings.
Could the same be applied to cannabis? Who knows?
Although, I am certain that many would disagree with the above, claiming that a glass of whiskey or just a few smokes helps them calm down when under stress. Is it all individual then? Perhaps.
Whatever the answer is, some do believe that cannabis does accelerate violent actions. Just on Tuesday, in a segment on “The Ingraham Angle,” Fox News’ Laura Ingraham initiated the conversation around a supposed link between the legalization of cannabis and recent mass shootings.
Ingraham’s guest was Dr. Russell Kamer, the medical director of Partners in Safety, a group that works with businesses offering drug tests for its employees, among other things. She started the discussion by saying that “it was initially reported” by The New York Times that the 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Texas last week “was a user.” This information was mysteriously removed from the piece later, reported The Daily Beast.
“Why are people, in general, not talking more about the pot psychosis–violent behavior connection?” Ingraham asked.
Kamer responded that studies reveal “the use of the high potency marijuana is strongly associated with the development of psychosis.” And with THC levels in the plant much higher than they were decades ago, this “connection” between violence and marijuana use is not often brought to the public attention.
“My colleagues in Colorado,” Kamer continued, “are sounding the alarm because that was one of the first states to legalize. It’s practically a daily occurrence that kids come into the emergency rooms in florid, cannabis-induced psychosis.”
Ingraham, who noted she will probably receive a ton of hate mail because of the segment, further proposed that politicians urging gun control should instead concentrate on risks around cannabis.
“People like Beto [O’Rourke]... they are fine with doing a run on the guns and I guess you could argue that if that’s what you want to do —try to get rid of the Second Amendment— but yet [they are] completely oblivious to what the legalization of marijuana has done and is doing to an entire generation of Americans with violent consequences,” Ingraham said.
Kamer agreed, saying, “It’s very scary what’s going to happen. We have just seen the beginning.” He then added if cannabis becomes federally legal, “we predict there will be at least 7,000 excess traffic fatalities a year.”
Whoopi Goldberg Slams Ingraham
A couple of days after the show aired, Ingraham turned out right about one thing: It is easy to guess which one, right? Her views have already seen a ton of criticism.
For instance, Whoopi Goldberg commented, “You are going to think I’m crazy but none of those things are the issue. The issue is that there is an assault weapon out there that people can put their hands on.”
“They can put their hands on it easier than they can get a glass of beer in a bar. Kids can get an assault weapon. That’s the issue. It’s not if people are smoking too much weed. You know that, Laura. You should know that. You know?”
Goldberg went on to point out some important things like the main and only purpose of the weapon. “This weapon,” she said, “you cannot hunt with it; you cannot go bird hunting with it. It is made to kill and destroy bodies. That's what it does.”
“People who smoke weed are not carrying AR-15s. Okay? They don’t even know where they put them, okay?”
Even If Ingraham Was Pointing On Something…
While Goldberg was right on point with the purpose of the gun, it is important to note that the idea of the link between pot and mass shootings is not something new, something Ingraham came up with. New York Post wrote about it two years ago, revealing several studies showing the connection between cannabis use and mental illnesses, and hence suggesting a non-direct link between cannabis and violent behavior of those mentally ill.
In the end, I guess the connection between cannabis and recent shootings can be easily discovered by drug testing of the shooters. And so far, we’ve seen no such reports, contrary to alcohol, which is legal, yet so many times confirmed to cause violent behaviors.
It is also important to remember correlation does not imply causation. Cannabis is accessible around the globe, and yet most countries don't experience nearly as many mass shootings as America does.
Photo: Courtesy of Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America - Laura Ingraham via Wikimedia Commons
Disclaimer: The preceding article represents de views of the author but not necessarily the opinion of Benzinga.
