Opinion ID: 2491001
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Marital Duties and Repugnance

Text: ¶ 70. As the majority recognizes, James's marihuana abuse was in no way comparable to the facts of Ashburn or Ladner. James did use the drug almost daily for more than forty years. Stacy testified that James's routine was to come home from work, smoke marihuana, and wait for her to prepare dinner. He would then isolate himself on the couch or in the computer room and sometimes come to bed late after staying awake to use the computer or watch television. James testified that he withdrew from his wife because she had withdrawn from him sexually after their children were born, in 1999, ten years before this divorce action was filed. Stacy admitted that she had withdrawn from James on an intimate level at that time. ¶ 71. Stacy testified that James had remained involved in their children's lives, taking them to church, helping them with their homework, and participating in their social activities, particularly fishing, sporting events, and shooting bb guns. Stacy complained that he came to only a few school activities, such as parent-teacher conferences. James did attend events with his wife's family less frequently and with Stacy's mother, Barbara Ruth in particular, stating that he became disinterested in these family events about three years before these proceedings began. James testified that this was because he did not like his wife's family. ¶ 72. On the whole, James's relationship with his inlaws is far less significant in divorce proceedings than his relationship with his children and with his spouse. The evidence is clear that James's relationship with his children remained strong and healthy. In contrast, his relationship with Stacy clearly declined. However, this decline was due to reasons other than the marihuana abuse. James testified, and Stacy admitted, that she had withdrawn from him sexually ten years prior, when their children were born. ¶ 73. Stacy testified that she began dating a man named Tom Henry before filing this divorce. James suspected or became aware of Stacy's adultery, and this affected the relationship between them. James also testified, and Stacy agreed, that Stacy never specifically asked James to stop smoking marihuana, though she claimed that his continued use exasperated her. The evidence is uncontroverted that Stacy was aware of James's marihuana habit two years before they married. While James failed to timely plead the affirmative defense of condonation, this testimony can hardly be irrelevant to our analysis. Since Stacy married James with the knowledge that he was a heavy abuser of marihuana, and never asked him to quit, in my opinion, it was unreasonable to conclude that James's marihuana abuse made the marriage repugnant to her. ¶ 74. James did stop performing certain marital duties, though there is no evidence that this was due to incapacity to perform them. The marriage obviously did become repugnant to Stacy. However, since Stacy had withdrawn from James sexually, engaged in an adulterous affair, and was aware of James's marihuana use even before marriage but never asked James to quit using it, the chancellor, in my opinion, abused his discretion by holding that marihuana abuse was responsible for this state of affairs.