You probably know how cannabis gets talked about these days.
Many people describe it as calming, something softer than alcohol or tobacco. The science is now asking a sharper question.
A new review in Psychological Medicine from researchers at King's College London found that people who use cannabis are about twice as likely to carry out a violent act as people who do not.
The analysis pooled 63 studies and more than 265,000 participants.
Also read: Adults are less likely to recover from depression or anxiety than they were a decade ago
The pattern held in the general population, among psychiatric patients, and in long-term as well as one-off studies.
What the review actually measured
In the general population, cannabis users were around twice as likely to be behind a violent act.
Among people in psychiatric care, they were about 2.5 times as likely.
The link was strongest when the violence had led to a criminal conviction.
Also read: How much protein do you actually need per day? The answer changes with age
There the odds were three to four times higher than in people who did not use cannabis.
The researchers also looked at the other side of violence.
Cannabis users were about 1.5 times more likely to be victims of it, and that risk was stronger among women.
Not every effect came out the same size. Long-term studies that followed people over years showed smaller links than one-off snapshots, though they still pointed in the same direction.
Also read: How to get more exercise into your daily routine
Most of the data was gathered before today's high-potency cannabis became widespread.
The authors say the current picture may be stronger, not weaker.
Why the researchers stop short of calling it a cause
A review this large can show a pattern. It cannot prove that cannabis itself is pushing people toward violence.
Cannabis use often sits alongside other things that raise the same risk.
Also read: 7 everyday foods high in soluble fiber that may lower your LDL cholesterol
These include heavier alcohol or other drug use, mental health problems and tough social circumstances.
In the statement from King's College London, Professor Marta Di Forti said that as a clinician she has seen how heavy cannabis use can be a factor in violence.
She said a review of this size lets researchers "speak with more confidence about the risks, while being careful not to stigmatise people who use cannabis more broadly."
Professor Sir Robin Murray, a co-author, added that as cannabis becomes more commercialized and more legal, the conversation about its risks has focused mostly on the person using it.
Also read: Your brain fog after COVID may have a physical cause
He said violence, both committing it and experiencing it, needs to be part of that conversation too.
This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.