Legal Marijuana Will Not Increase Crime. Please Stop Saying That

[Ganjarden]

The closer we get to legalization, the more people are talking about it, and the more people are talking about it, the greater the likelihood of hearing bizarre and incoherent viewpoints:

Those in favor also contend that if you remove the black market by making pot consumption legal – much of the marijuana-related crime would automatically go down.

That is where I have to respectfully disagree.

Money is legal, but criminals still rob banks to get it.

The more marijuana there is out there being grown, the more of it there will be to be stolen.

Criminals gravitate to wherever there is anything of value they can steal. [Oakland Tribune]

Excuse me, but what the hell does that have to do with whether or not marijuana should be legal? Yeah, we're all familiar with the fact that people prefer to steal stuff that's worth money. What on earth is your point?

I think the author might actually be arguing that prohibition somehow devalues the marijuana supply, which would have to be the stupidest understanding of drug laws I've ever encountered. So let me respond in very simple terms: marijuana will not be worth as much money when it is legal. Marijuana sales will take place in secure facilities, and thugs will be put out of business, so you'll be less likely to see stories like this in the news:

Police said Arrington was selling marijuana to one of the victims in the back seat of a white Chevrolet Yukon when the two began arguing about the quality of the marijuana. Arrington allegedly pulled out a gun, shot the man with whom he was arguing, then shot two of the man's acquaintances, who were in the front seat. [Washington Post]

That shooting took place a week ago and only a mile from my home, so I take this very seriously. Marijuana laws are a matter of life and death, and anyone who walks around spouting off opinions without thinking is making the problem worse. If we don't want people getting shot over pot deals in the back of SUVs, then we need to put it somewhere safe. We put money in banks, and sometimes they get robbed, but no one ever argues that banks are a dangerous way to store and distribute money.

We don't need to prove that legalization is 100% perfect and invincible in every conceivable way in order to justify our position. We can easily show that it's the safest and best available option. If that's not enough for you, then you're either an obstructionist, an idiot, or both.


NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: StoptheDrugWar.org
Author: Scott Morgan
Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org
Copyright: 2010 StoptheDrugWar.org
Website: Legal Marijuana Will Not Increase Crime. Please Stop Saying That

* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article

 

[ilynnboy]

More than likely both!!!

 

[bigjake]

Very well written.

This situation only has one outcome that makes any sense .
And i think the only reason it is still against the law is so many
in LeA are getting rich off of it .You know i can't remember the
last time i had talked to anyone who is dead against it.

 

[gromper]

I'm hoping that once it is legal, just as I will pick a peach off my neighbors peach tree that hangs over my fence, I might be able to snip a little dank hanging over my fence from my neighbors Trainwreck ... with permission of course. If neighborhood kids discover it, it'll be time to leave the dog out in the yard all night. This will probly lead to a spike in fall crime - around harvest time.

As people start growing their own however; I only fear that a few more males may grow to maturity and spread their pollen to the wind and we'll end up with seeded bud when growing outdoors.

 

[MedicalNeed]

gromper, there is your proof the prohibitionist don't know squat. As once it is legal and the feral weed returns sensi weed will be a thing of the past, Except for that grown indoors with pollen trap on incoming air.

 

[stonedrock]

Yes, all the drugs being smuggled through AZ and CA as I type won't be worth as much now if it is legal. Therefor cutting there incentatives to bring any drugs over the borders.

 

[stonewallred]

Hmm, history?
What did the end of prohibition do for the cost and safety of society?
Booze got cheaper, many criminal gangs went away, and society benefited.
Yeah, if you grow pot some knucklehead will probably steal it if they get a chance.
But at least, if it is legal, you can have lights and alarms and call the police, just as you would if someone stole one of your prized multi-thousand dollar orchids that some folks grow/have.
Plus if it is legal, means more pot, more people growing, and a lesser chance for you to be hit. Convenience stores get robbed more than banks because there are more stores than banks.
If CA legalized pot, the cartels would be out of business as far as pot was concerned at least. Legal growers could produce it cheaper and better quality.
Now the states bordering CA, now that is when it gets interesting. CA would become the hub of pot smuggling, without the problem of an international border.
I could see the cartels moving into that area. And how would the border states handle it? Would they set up toll roads and have drug sniffers at every road out of CA? Stop every vehicle with CA tags going through their state? How about the tractor trailers carrying loads back east, produce especially? Trains?
The idea of legalization of pot in CA is probably sending every suit in the DEA to his favorite pill pusher searching for anxiety relief. Heck, I live on the East coast, and the money involved in moving cigarettes from down South to up North is staggering. The idea of pot? Lol, I am sure more than one enterprising person is already got plans in place for moving it East.

That is why I am hoping the legalization movement gets the initiative passed.
Marijuana being legal in CA will cause other states to do the same, if for no other reason than the money. Plus, sorry to say this, it will cause the feds to spend all their time and energy chasing you guys in CA, leaving the other 49 states alone for the most part.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Convenience stores get robbed more than banks because there are more stores than banks.

Less armed guards in convenience stores, less security overall in banks, knocking over a 7-11 doesn't get investigated by the feebs.

But I agree with much of the rest of your post.