In what marijuana advocates may not call too much of a surprise, test analysts at University of Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions found the more often couples smoked marijuana, the less likely they were on the whole to engage in domestic violence. 

"These findings suggest that marijuana use is predictive of lower levels of aggression towards one's partner in the following year," says lead investigator Kenneth Leonard in a statement revealing the results. "As in other survey studies of marijuana and partner violence, our study examines patterns of marijuana use and the occurrence of violence within a year period. It does not examine whether using marijuana on a given day reduces the likelihood of violence at that time."

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The study followed the habits of 634 heterosexual couples, using a baseline of at or above two to three marijuana "hits" per month. The study attempted to clarify inconsistent findings about domestic violence among pot-smoking couples that primarily has been based on cross-sectional data.

Leonard likened the finds to similar results found in drinking-companion relationships. 

"Couples who use marijuana together may share similar values and social circles, and it is this similarity that is responsible for reducing the likelihood of conflict," he said. 

There was no mention as to if they were just "mellower."

Leonard was circumspect about the data.

"Although this study supports the perspective that marijuana does not increase, and may decrease, aggressive conflict," he said, "we would like to see research replicating these findings, and research examining day-to-day marijuana and alcohol use and the likelihood to intimate partner violence on the same day before drawing stronger conclusions."

It was suggested that intimate partner violence (IPV) was, in fact, found to decrease across the board in the study, not only in husbands specifically who used marijuana, but also if it was used by both partners. The relationship between marijuana use and reduced partner violence was most evident among women who did not have histories of prior antisocial behavior. 

Tagsmarijuana, domestic violence, cannabis