Pitt’s Pot Habit Didn’t Work for Jolie

Brad Pitt smokes weed. That’s not breaking news — nor is it a habit he’s chosen to hide over the years. What is new is that it’s one of the factors that “those close to the couple” allege is key to wife Angelina Jolie’s filing for divorce.

“Jolie, 41, was sick and tired of constantly sparring over their lifestyle,” one source told the New York Post. Another source told TMZ that Jolie felt Pitt’s drinking and pot smoking was affecting their kids. As Jolie’s lawyer stated, the filing was “for the health of the family.”

“Whenever there is recreational and excessive drug use in a family, it’s always difficult for people to stay together,” said an addiction expert.

Jolie filed for divorce Monday, citing “irreconcilable differences” — no one knows for sure whether or not it was weed that got in their way, or anything else at this point. The couple isn’t talking about this element of their relationship yet.

What is likely, however, is that there are a lot of other families out there right now who are stepping back and acknowledging the toll drug or alcohol use has taken on their own family, purely due to the spotlight it’s just been given.

And if it did somehow foil the marriage of Hollywood’s hottest couple, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time substance use or abuse has torn a relationship and a family apart.

“Whenever there is recreational and excessive drug use in a family, it’s always difficult for people to stay together, even if both of them are involved,” said Dr. Deni Carise, chief clinical officer for Recovery Centers of America, located in the Boston and Washington, D.C., areas.

Related: Brad and Angelina’s Kids: Now What?

“But particularly when one partner is using or abusing drugs and the other is not, it makes it more difficult because the other can’t relate to their mood, behavior, or actions — or why they do what they do. One spouse feels much more in the caretaker role, always has to drive or take the kids. There are a lot of ways alcohol or drug use can get in the way of a family,” Carise told LifeZette.

Substance use or abuse is an issue, she said, that “a lot of people can relate to.”

Substance abusers on average, use 11 times the health care resources of non-substance abusers.

“It’s a big issue — particularly now, with more people abusing prescription drugs and medications, and there’s more availability of decriminalized or in some states, legalized marijuana. That’s always going to increase use, and that’s always going to increase problems,” said Carise.

The numbers continue to change, but data coming out of Colorado shows that when substances like marijuana are more available, more people use it. And while marijuana may have the lowest percentage of people who develop a problem after they try the drug, that number is still estimated to be about 9 percent, said Carise.

“The more something is available, the more it gets used, and the more there is a problem with it,” she said. “In couples or families where one person uses and the other does not, again, that’s when you’re seeing even more problems.”

Substance abusers, on average, use 11 times the health care resources of non-substance abusers, Carise added.

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Carise pointed out just how big a toll a person’s recreational drug or alcohol choices or addictions might take on their spouse.

If a couple is having issues, whether it’s Brad and Angelina or anyone else — specifically if one is using or abusing drugs and one is not — Carise said an intervention may help. Couples counseling is another option when trying to save the marriage.

But regardless of whether or not a user gets help, spouses often need to take their own steps toward recovery. Carise points out there are groups like Al-Anon or Alateen to help.