Washington D.C [USA], Jan 9 : Prevalence of marijuana detected in victims of homicides had almost doubled over a period of 12 years, according to a recently published study.
On the other hand, the trace of alcohol had come down slightly.
Researchers from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health accessed data in the US spanning between 2004 and 2016 for time trends in alcohol and marijuana detected in homicide victims and found that the prevalence of marijuana almost doubled, increasing from 22 per cent in 2004 to 42 per cent in 2016.
The findings of the study was published in Injury Epidemiology.
"Despite the growing body of evidence linking alcohol and marijuana to homicide victimization, until now there was little information about the contemporary trends in the prevalence of alcohol and marijuana among homicide victims in the United States," said Guohua Li, MD, DrPH, professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School.
To gain details of the data, the experts tracked a population-based survey and counted the violent deaths in the United States. Among the total of 12,638 victims, approximately 37.5 per cent were on alcohol whereas 31 per cent smoked marijuana. There was 11 per cent who were positive on both addictives.
The study also reveals that males were more inclined towards consuming the addictives as compared to women.
"We observed marked increases in the prevalence of marijuana in both sexes and across age and racial groups," said Li, who is also a professor of anesthesiology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
"Our findings are of public health significance because previous research has established marijuana use as an important risk factor for homicide victimization. The impact of increased permissibility and availability of marijuana on violence and injuries needs to be closely monitored and rigorously studied," Li added.