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Cannabis Use Linked to Higher Odds of Violence, Review Finds

By Freedom251 Team · · 2 min read

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A 2026 systematic review found that cannabis use was associated with higher odds of both perpetrating violence and becoming a victim of violence. The findings do not show that cannabis causes violence or predict what any individual cannabis user will do.

What the review found

Published online in Psychological Medicine on 24 September 2026, the review by Giulia Trotta and colleagues combined results from 63 peer-reviewed studies involving 265,079 participants. It searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO through November 2024 and used random-effects models to pool results. This was a synthesis of existing research, not a new experiment. Read the paper in Psychological Medicine.

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The authors reported associations with violent perpetration in both general-population samples and samples of psychiatric patients. An odds ratio (OR) compares the odds of an outcome between groups; it is not an individual’s probability of experiencing or committing violence. A 95% confidence interval (CI) gives a range of values consistent with the pooled estimate under the analysis.

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Outcome or analysis Pooled odds ratio (95% CI)
Violent perpetration, general-population samples 2.05 (1.74–2.41)
Violent perpetration, psychiatric-patient samples 2.49 (1.72–3.61)
Violent perpetration, longitudinal studies 1.17 (1.07–1.28)
Violent perpetration, cross-sectional studies 2.37 (1.66–3.40)

The pooled estimate for longitudinal studies was notably smaller than the cross-sectional estimate. These figures describe associations across studies; they should not be read as absolute risks or as a direct comparison of an individual’s likelihood of violence.

Perpetration, victimization and convictions are different outcomes

The review also found an association between cannabis use and victimization: OR 1.49 (95% CI 1.38–1.60). Subgroup analyses found a stronger association among female than male participants. That result concerns being a victim, not committing violence.

For violence resulting in a criminal conviction, pooled estimates were higher: OR 3.75 (95% CI 2.54–5.53) in general-population samples and OR 4.21 (95% CI 2.86–6.22) in psychiatric samples. The conviction findings came from relatively few studies, so they warrant particular caution. A conviction is also a narrower, distinct measure than a broad assessment of violent behavior.

The review focused on violent perpetration and victimization. A secondary account describes the violence definition as encompassing physical, sexual and psychological violence against another person, within or outside a relationship; where a study assessed multiple forms, it says the most serious form was selected. SciTechDaily’s report provides that description.

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Why the results do not prove cannabis causes violence

Most importantly, an association does not establish cause and effect. Factors such as alcohol or other drug use and difficult social circumstances could contribute to both cannabis use and violence. The larger cross-sectional estimate compared with the longitudinal estimate is another reason not to interpret the pooled results as proof that cannabis use itself leads to violence.

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The underlying studies also leave important questions unresolved. Few measured cannabis quantity or frequency in a way that allowed robust comparisons, and much of the evidence predates widespread high-potency cannabis. The review therefore cannot establish how risks differ by dose, use pattern or product potency.

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What the findings may mean for care and public-health messaging

The journal abstract identifies routine assessment of cannabis use among psychiatric patients as a possible intervention target. That is an implication suggested by the review, not evidence that an assessment or treatment strategy was tested and shown to reduce violence. The authors also argue that violence should be considered in public-health conversations about cannabis. Neither implication means that most cannabis users are violent or that cannabis use alone explains violence.

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