Smoking as a Couple can Reduce Arguments

Smoking as a couple can reduce arguments according to some studies done to analyze the behavior of couples that smoke cannabis together; said studies can be find in the Psychology of Addictive Behaviors magazine which illustrate statistics of 9 years of relationship with 643 couples. Those couples that claimed to smoke cannabis together two or three times a week reports less inter-familial violence, less arguments and more empathy, tranquility and communication. These results were also visible in couples that smoked less; twice or three times a month was enough to reduce hostile or violent occurrences.

Verbal abuse, insults and threats are also considered violent events; the studies don’t actually classify violent acts, they just take note and relate how cannabis in conjugal cases can reduce violent and abusive behaviors. This could be due to an extra production of serotonin which happens in the brain when one has consumed cannabis, and it relaxes us and inhibits cortisol production, which is the “hunting” or movement hormone. It’s also produced when we have high stress levels and tends to cause even more stress. Serotonin obviously produces the exact opposite effect than cortisol.

Cannabis doesn’t just affect cortisol production; it also affects testosterone production which is an important hormone when it comes to the individual’s mood. Cortisol and testosterone are the two hormones that give us the most energy, and a good balanced level of cortisol is what allows people to be energized in the morning without coffee; this hormone is produced in our brains the most between 7 and 9 A.M. The same study has shown how 20 year olds that use cannabis tend to me 10cm shorter and 4kg less in weight, due to the fact that the growth hormone GH appears earlier in smokers and it limits their physical growth but accelerates their hormonal maturity. This hormone promotes mineralization in the bones as well as stimulating the immune system, pancreas and muscular mass. It’s been proven through analysis that tobacco smokers tend to have higher levels of cortisol, meaning that if you’re consuming cannabis or you want to start doing so, you should try and avoid consuming tobacco.

If that doesn’t seem like much, cannabis also stimulates the production of the empathy hormone. There’s a study published in Science magazine that proves how mice in certain situations can show the same amount of empathy as a person who hugs someone else to console them. The experiment was done with field mice and shows how they can form close bonds with each other as well as be monogamous by stimulating and blocking said hormone various times; mice were shown to be empathetic, recognizing moments of pain and suffering in other mice, going over to them and rubbing up against them to help calm them down.

This kind of information is generally something that cannabis smokers probably already knew, even if they’re not frequent consumers it’s easy to notice that sensation of tranquility and relaxation that comes with smoking weed, where violence is rejected. This is the complete opposite in other substances like alcohol, which we all know can cause gigantic arguments and fights.

Author: Fabio Inga
Translation: Ciara Murphy