Abstract
RationaleAlcohol and cannabis use have been implicated in aggression. Alcohol consumption is known to facilitate aggression, whereas a causal link between cannabis and aggression has not been clearly demonstrated.ObjectivesThis study investigated the acute effects of alcohol and cannabis on subjective aggression in alcohol and cannabis users, respectively, following aggression exposure. Drug-free controls served as a reference. It was hypothesized that aggression exposure would increase subjective aggression in alcohol users during alcohol intoxication, whereas it was expected to decrease subjective aggression in cannabis users during cannabis intoxication.MethodsHeavy alcohol (n = 20) and regular cannabis users (n = 21), and controls (n = 20) were included in a mixed factorial study. Alcohol and cannabis users received single doses of alcohol and placebo or cannabis and placebo, respectively. Subjective aggression was assessed before and after aggression exposure consisting of administrations of the point-subtraction aggression paradigm (PSAP) and the single category implicit association test (SC-IAT). Testosterone and cortisol levels in response to alcohol/cannabis treatment and aggression exposure were recorded as secondary outcome measures.ResultsSubjective aggression significantly increased following aggression exposure in all groups while being sober. Alcohol intoxication increased subjective aggression whereas cannabis decreased the subjective aggression following aggression exposure. Aggressive responses during the PSAP increased following alcohol and decreased following cannabis relative to placebo. Changes in aggressive feeling or response were not correlated to the neuroendocrine response to treatments.ConclusionsIt is concluded that alcohol facilitates feelings of aggression whereas cannabis diminishes aggressive feelings in heavy alcohol and regular cannabis users, respectively.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00213-016-4371-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Alcohol and cannabis are among the most frequently used drugs worldwide (EMCDDA 2012)
The present study investigated the acute effects of alcohol and cannabis on subjective aggression following aggression exposure in heavy alcohol and regular cannabis users, respectively
Complete data sets were missing for the point-subtraction aggression paradigm (PSAP) (4 participants) and aggression visual analogue scale (VAS) (2 participants) PSAP data of one participant was excluded from analysis due to extreme values
Summary
Alcohol and cannabis are among the most frequently used drugs worldwide (EMCDDA 2012). The elicitation of aggressive behavior following alcohol consumption, called Bintoxicated aggression,^ has been frequently reported on a global scale (Murdoch et al 1990). Does not typically lead to aggression in most individuals (Hoaken and Stewart 2003), but it might increase or facilitate aggression in certain subgroups (i.e., violent offenders, clinical population) (Cherek et al 1993). Not everybody who uses alcohol or cannabis engages in aggressive behaviors (Heinz et al 2001; Kopak et al 2014; Lammers et al 2014). A clear relationship between alcohol, drugs, and intoxicated aggression is neither linear nor invariant. Some drugs can facilitate aggressive behavior through
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