Drug Abuse in the Workplace – Marijuana Users Not So Docile?

As the story goes or as Snoop Dog would say, the use of marijuana tends to make users “laid back”. It’s an argument often trotted out by those drawing comparisons between alcohol use and marijuana use. They argue – ‘why is alcohol legal and marijuana illegal when alcohol makes people violent and marijuana makes people docile?’. Even if we presume their premise is correct it wouldn’t justify legalizing marijuana on that merit alone, but it does bring up an interesting question. Is it true that marijuana use relaxes users and makes them laid back and docile? Has there been much legitimate research done to even know?

Marijuana is a mild hallucinogen and thus can have an effect on a users perception. But does it have the potential to make users more hostile?

Some are pointing towards a recent study by the Yale School of Medicine to counter the longstanding stereotype. The study states “Marijuana use can lead to increased impulsivity and perception of hostility in oneself and others.” With marijuana use on the rise, and rapidly changing state laws, it would be good to know if the longstanding stereotype is in fact…fact.  The study tracked 43 recreational marijuana users who used at least 4.5 days of of the last 3 with the intention of analyzing the participants’ changes in impulsivity and hostility in relation to marijuana use.

Unfortunately we could not verify the source data in the study to find out more details, however there are some obvious problems with trying to draw these types of conclusions from this study. First, it’s a small sample. One study following only 43 participants does not make a strong case. Second, the language of the conclusion of this study does not directly address the underlying question. The study measured a “perception of hostility” which does not equate to someone actually being more hostile. and for every study like this, you’ll likely find a study drawing an opposite conclusion (and this).

For now, it doesn’t look like theres serious scientific consensus proving either case. Hopefully more research will be performed and can help shed some light.

What may be just as important to this issue are other relevant factors such as the increased potency of THC in new varities. Today’s marijuana is three times stronger than the marijuana of old. It stands to reason that whatever effects marijuana does have on an individual are likely to be more pronounced in today’s stronger varieties.

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/a_ninjamonkey/