Financial, relationship costs linked to long-term pot use, study finds

A new study suggests that long-term marijuana users who smoke several times a week are more likely to suffer from financial and relationship problems than their peers.

By using data from a study in Dunedin, New Zealand, that followed 1,000 people over 38 years, the research team gleaned a deep sense of how regular, heavy cannabis use affected people over time.

The sample participants were interviewed every three to six years from until age 38. The research team looked at their financial situations, personal relationships and job patterns.

“We found that people who smoke cannabis on a regular basis over many years ended up in a lower social class than their parents. So that means they ended up in jobs that were less well paid, less prestigious and required fewer skills,” said the study’s lead researcher Dr. Magdalena Cerdá, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Davis.

The researchers used self-reported data and government records, such as credit scores and police convictions.

The habitual heavy pot users had more instances of violence against their partners.

“And they also exhibited more antisocial behaviors in the workplace,” added Cerdá.”For example. calling in sick when they weren’t, lying to get a job or stealing money.”

The longer they spent smoking weed heavily, the more their life outcomes declined.

Researchers even found heavy pot smokers did worse financially over time than people with a drinking problem.