Abstract
Cannabis use far exceeds the use of other illicit drugs, but less is known about its role in facilitating violence proneness. Hence, throughout this chapter, mechanisms will be presented that explain how cannabis, specifically THC, facilitates the perpetration of interpersonal violence and sometimes homicides. In fact, violence facilitation tends to be more likely among daily cannabis users. Furthermore, the perpetration can occur under the influence of cannabis (intoxication) or due to the absence of this substance in daily consumers, with these two mechanisms being complementary. Moreover, cannabis intoxication promotes psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations or paranoia, which might provoke anger outbursts, and there is a high probability of being violent due to the absence of the substance (withdrawal syndrome). In any case, it is extremely difficult to establish a direct relationship between these variables because the majority of the associations are mediated by factors such as mental or personality disorders, among others.
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Abbreviations
- 5-HT:
-
Serotonin
- CB1R:
-
Cannabinoid 1 receptor
- CB2R:
-
Cannabinoid 2 receptor
- CNS:
-
Central nervous system
- COMT:
-
Catechol-O-methyl transferase
- GABA:
-
Gamma-aminobutyric acid
- HPA:
-
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
- PFC:
-
Prefrontal cortex
- THC:
-
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
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Romero-Martínez, Á. (2022). Long-Term Drug Use. In: Patel, V.B., Preedy, V.R. (eds) Handbook of Substance Misuse and Addictions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92392-1_13
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