A new analysis of violence between intimate partners concludes that legalizing marijuana for adult use “results in a substantial decrease in rates of intimate partner violence.”
The finding also indicate that recreational cannabis legalization “substantially impacts the relationship between heavy drinking” and intimate partner violence (IPV), possibly as the result of people substituting marijuana for alcohol.
Author Samantha Gene Baldwin, a Georgetown master of public policy student, wrote in the thesis that the findings are “surprising,” saying the links between recreational marijuana legalization (RML) and IPV “require careful consideration.”
“As marijuana use is a known risk factor for IPV and legalization of recreational marijuana typically increases usage, RML could be expected to increase rates of IPV,” Baldwin wrote, adding: “Reduced alcohol use could complicate this relationship if marijuana acts as a substitute to alcohol. As alcohol consumption is a greater risk factor for IPV than marijuana use, any reduction in alcohol consumption would lessen the impact of RML on IPV.”
The study drew on data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which includes details of crimes that are reported to police. Baldwin used data from 2013–2019, deciding not to include data from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The analysis found that “legalization of recreational marijuana results in 56.6 fewer reported incidents of IPV per 100,000 people.”
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