Violence Exposure Relates Differently to Blood Pressure and Emotional Health as a Function of Cannabis Use Among Street-Identified Black Americans

In a large community sample of street-identified Black Americans (N = 364; ages 16–54; 55.6% male), we examined the health risks posed by living in communities saturated with violence and how cannabis use may influence health outcomes. Cross-sectional data collected using street-participatory action research and analyzed with hierarchical linear regressions indicated that violence exposure severity was differently related to physical- and mental-health outcomes depending on cannabis use. Specifically, links between more frequent violence exposure and elevations in blood pressure were significantly weaker among cannabis users compared with nonusers. However, frequent violence exposure was also more strongly related to worse emotional functioning (e.g., symptoms of anxiety and depression) among cannabis users than noncannabis users. Together, these findings suggest cannabis use may weaken the risk conferred by chronic violence exposure for poor cardiovascular health but not for poor mental health in underserved and highly stressed populations, such as street-identified Black Americans.