Crime Still Isn't Devouring Denver 4 Months After Legal Pot [View all]

[RainDog]

It's a given that correlation isn't causation - but the reality from data indicates law enforcement predictions to expect more crime has not proved true - EVEN as businesses had to keep large amounts of cash on hand because they had no access to banking services. This would be, imo, the biggest enticement to crime with the change in laws.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/13/marijuana-crime-denver_n_5319298.html

Four months after recreational marijuana sales were legalized in Denver, crime still hasn't gone up, according to the city's latest data.

Overall violent crime in Denver for the four-month period that includes January to April fell 5.6 percent from the same period a year earlier. Crime is down in the four main categories of violent crime -- homicide, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault. Property crime dropped 11.4 percent from the first four months of 2013.

The crime data stands in stark contrast to statements made by law enforcers in 2012, before Amendment 64 legalized marijuana in Colorado for recreational sale and use. Multiple members of the state's law enforcement community warned legalization would bring bleak and "harmful" consequences. “Expect more crime, more kids using marijuana and pot for sale everywhere," Douglas County Sheriff David Weaver said in a 2012 statement . "I think our entire state will pay the price."

Denver's crime statistics during the first four months of retail marijuana reflect findings from a recent report published in the peer-reviewed PLOS ONE journal showing that legalizing medical marijuana causes no increase in crime, and may reduce some violent crime, including homicide.