Drug Free Australia Claims Cannabis Makes Users 'Kill Those Closest To Them'

Drug Free Australia has offered their submission to Victoria's parliamentary committee investigating cannabis use.

It's fairly unsurprising with a name like 'Drug Free Australia' that the group is anti-illegal narcotics.

The group's research director, Gary Christian, was one of seven submissions during the day and he explained how there are many alleged problems with cannabis use in the general population.

Pondering Pot watched his testament on May 19 and pointed out the director failed to provide sources for some of his most damning assertions.

At one point in the submission, Mr Christian claimed cannabis can result in violence and aggression, 'particularly inter-personal and domestic violence'.

"A lot of the violence and aggression actually turns into homicide. This is a world-wide known phenomenon about cannabis. They kill the people that are closest to them," he said.

Mr Christian has since got in touch with LADbible to offer several studies about how there is a link between cannabis and psychosis and schizophrenia.

He alleges that because there's a link between cannabis-induced psychosis/schizophrenia and homicides/violence, then that is the reason for him saying weed can cause people to lash out.

Mr Christian also cited two studies that dived into how cannabis could be linked to violent in youth.

Funnily enough, alcohol has been found to have a clear link with domestic violence and death, with numerous studies backing up the idea that the two go hand-in-hand in certain cases.

The World Health Organisation wrote: "Alcohol consumption, especially at harmful and hazardous levels is a major contributor to the occurrence of intimate partner violence and links between the two are manifold."

Despite this, the director believes weed does more harm than alcohol.

In a different slide, the Drug Free Australia research director also claimed weed users are 16 times more likely to be involved in a traffic accident and also asserted that it can cause autism.

Several studies have found weed can help improve a person with autism's conditions, however, while Drug Free Australia offered studies to suggest a link between cannabis and autism spectrum disorder, researchers said there need to be more investigation into the topic.

Also, in the year since the Australian Capital Territory decriminalised weed, there hasn't been an uptick in traffic accidents.

In addition to that, official statistics show that despite Australians consuming weed more than any other drug, there are only 0.5 per cent of deaths on the road linked to cannabis. Alcohol is responsible for a whopping 30 per cent.

Drug Free Australia offered a 2006 study from France that found consuming cannabis can impair a driver's skills.

Pondering Pot breaks down more of the research director's submission and you can watch the whole video here.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie