- American Cannabis Report Editorial Staff
Legal Weed Up, Violent Crime Down
Thoughtful people would like to believe the days of such anti-cannabis propaganda - the real Reefer Madness - are long gone.
But as recent statements from Washing DC attest, they are not. Even the US Attorney General has recently increased his anti-cannabis rhetoric and promises to provide "...tools to disrupt criminal organizations, tackle the growing drug crisis, and thwart violent crime across our country."
The TRUTH is: when cannabis is legalized, violent crime goes down, according to FBI data from 1994 to 2012.
"Researchers found that legal marijuana coincided with noticeable drops in violent crime. These changes were most pronounced in states bordering Mexico.
In these states, violent crime dropped by an average of 13 percent when cannabis was legalized—even if it was only medical marijuana. More specifically, border states saw a 41 percent decrease in the number of homicides directly linked to drugs. Similarly, robbery decreased by 19 percent and murder rates fell by 10 percent."
This FBI data flies directly against the gale of anti-legalization noise including the AG and earlier discredited testimony of Nebraska Attorney General Douglas Peterson, who attempted to present as evidence of the violent effect of Colorado's legal cannabis programs on neighboring states, a document which included the following disclaimer:
"NOTE: SOME OF THE DATA REPORTED IN THIS SECTION IS BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY INQUIRIES ON THE PARTICULAR SUBJECT, SUCH AS CRIME AND SUICIDES. THIS IS NOT TO INFER THAT THE DATA IS DUE TO THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA." (emphasis added)
Oops.
Better read the data, fellas, or you're operating on hearsay from tone-deaf sources.