High times and troubled relationships: Recreational marijuana laws and intimate partner violence

Michele Baggio; Alberto Chong; Revathy Suryanarayana

doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101399

High times and troubled relationships: Recreational marijuana laws and intimate partner violence

Econ Hum Biol. 2024 May 6:54:101399. doi: 10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101399. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Michele Baggio¹, Alberto Chong², Revathy Suryanarayana³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Economics, University of Connecticut, USA. Electronic address: michele.baggio@uconn.edu.
² Department of Economics, Georgia State University, USA; Department of Economics, Universidad del Pacífico, Peru.
³ Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, USA.

PMID: 38733865
DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101399

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between Recreational Marijuana Laws (RMLs) and intimate partner violence (IPV). While marijuana is often considered harmless, the existing medical literature reveals both positive and negative impacts of its active ingredient on brain function. Utilizing a difference-in-difference methodology spanning 2006-2016 across 39 states, we find that RMLs produce a 20 percent increase in IPV incidents per 100,000 individuals, which appears to be mediated through mental health issues and binge drinking. These findings highlight the likely need for preventive and proactive policies to address the complex interplay of marijuana, RMLs, and IPV.

Keywords: Differences-in-differences; Domestic violence; Recreational marijuana laws.