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SHOPS WHICH SELL legalised marijuana lead to no more crime in surrounding areas than those areas with bars or alcohol stores, a new study has found.
Researchers at Ohio State University found that crime isn’t higher in the area immediately surrounding marijuana outlets. But adjacent areas saw about 84 more property crimes per year than neighbourhoods without a nearby marijuana store.
In Denver, no significant increase in violent crime was seen as a result of marijuana sales.
The results show that legal marijuana sales come with a cost, said Bridget Freisthler, lead author of the study and professor of social work at The Ohio State University.
“If you’re looking strictly from a public health standpoint, there is reason to be somewhat concerned about having a marijuana outlet near your home,” Freisthler said.
Putting this risk in context, marijuana outlets led to similar levels of property crime as bars, liquor stores and restaurants that serve alcohol, data from the study suggests. And businesses that sold alcohol led to much more violent crime than marijuana outlets.
The study was published online today in the Journal of Primary Prevention.
Density
The researchers examined crime statistics for 481 Census block groups in Denver over 34 months (January 2013 to October 2015). When the study began, marijuana could only be sold for medical purposes. But beginning in January 2014, marijuana outlets were able to sell to the general public, giving the researchers the opportunity to see if recreational sales were tied to increases in crime.
The change in the law allowing recreational sales did not result in an increase in crime, results showed.
“It is the number and density of outlets that is important, not whether they are medical or recreational,” Freisthler said.
But there is a caveat to that finding. After the law was first changed to allow recreational sales, only those dispensaries that already were selling for medical purposes were allowed to apply for a license to sell recreational marijuana in Colorado.
As a result, the number of outlets didn’t change much.
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It looks like they are looking for issues where there are none.
The headline “Legal marijuana shops responsible for as much crime as bars” doesn’t match the information revealed in the article.
@Blind Faith: that’s The Journal for you, should be called The Click Bait.
Simon Harris is still denying vera twomeys daughters cannabis medicine this is the cruel government of ff fg this article is written on behalf of big business.Simon Harris your a national disgrace to the children of this state.legalize regulate tax.the irish establishment is in the pockets of big business time we vote them out..
@Bobby Phelan: the Irish medicines board are living in the stone age whilst protecting and promoting big pharma whom are their masters. Tylex is an example of this, they don’t even know how that poison works but yet it’s the no 1 dispensed painkiller but when they are asked about using cannabis as a painkiller they say there is no evidence to support its benefits.
@Bobby Phelan:
Your party tried controlling the drugs trade. Made a lot of money from it. Thankfully the state took action and stopped them so then your party tried to become “concerned parents” and started knee capping and kicking people out if their homes. In certain parts of our island your party is still doing that. And you have the neck to try to blame everything on government? Google a few facts on Sinn Fein – IRA before you post more of your silly rants Bobby.
@Alan Cooke: where is your evidence of sf drug dealing I suppose you saying the government doesn’t deal drugs how naive you are alan.kettle calling the pot black.alcohol is a drug I suppose Alan in your world its not.gombeen
@Bobby Phelan:
Slab Murphy.
@Alan Cooke: slab is not a member of sf.
@Bobby Phelan:
Colombian three!
And don’t give us that bird watching excuse.
@Bobby Phelan:
Yes he is.
A good republican I think you’ll find Gerry and Mary Lou called him.
@Alan Cooke: they called him a good republican because he helped with the peace process.
How did they prove that the increased property crime was caused by marijuana outlets?
There could be many reasons for an increase in crime
@Dave Harris: cause they cherry picked it Dave
@Dave Harris: there could have also been bars in the same area maybe?
The headline is misleading as the report goes on to say…”And businesses that sold alcohol led to much more violent crime than marijuana outlets”…This is sensational propagandist nonsense on stilts where they are struggling to associate property crimes with marijuana sales and have failed. Alcohol leads to violence wheras marijuana does not.
Studies have found that areas with higher crime rates have people living there.
Looks like 2 propagandist anti cannabis stories (headlines really) in a matter of hours. Who’s pulling the strings here?
So the same level of property crime, and less violent crime… Could this be due to an increase in footfall in the area i.e a lidl could have the same effect on surrounding areas?
What an incredibly misleading headline and a totaly conflicted article. The editor who decided to publish this article and give it that headline needs to reconsider his life and his own worth. You have issues that’s for sure. Go get a job with a shovel and spend some time figuring life out for a while……
Would have been beneficial to outline what crimes increased – it says non-violent so that’s ruled out. Presumably it increases drug-driving or similar.
You can make facts, did you know areas on weekend nights near a Mc Ds or Fast-food take aways the surrounding areas see more anti social behaviour than others.
So in Ohio, which is known for havinv pretty grim areas, there was an increase in crime.
In Denver, there was no increase.
Yep, real thorough there lads. That headline is accurate too.
Absolute nonsense.
I’ve never heard of someone being stoned and disorderly
Reminded me of a Donovan lyric “the violent hash smoker shook the chocolate machine”
@Matthew Moore: Where does the story talk about violence by the customers? It quite clearly stated that Property Crime was found to have risen where these shops have been located. Property Crime could be anything from pissing in someone’s garden up to burglary.
@Mick Jordan Smoking a bifter down an alleyway = criminal. Wildly drunk out of control = having the craic. Welcome to Ireland
@Mick Jordan: Where does my comment talk about violence by customers? I quoted a line which I find quite amusing, from a song which came to mind when I read the article.
What a load of rubbish. Misleading headline too.
What a nonsense article!
All the pot heads straight on to defend their beloved plant!!!
@John Gallagher: Judging by the article there’s not really much defending required, is there?
If you wanted to show actual information, you should have given a comparison to statistics in other palle a, like the Netherlands for example. That could have been interesting.
Another overly negative article on something which should have been legalised decades ago….this poisonous island won’t even legalise it for medicinal reasons but they’ll sure as heck the publicity saying theyre for it
“Legal marijuana shops responsible for as much crime as bars” Really? According to the article, no.
Coca-Cola creates social problems. Chocolate causes social problems.
Ban them all.
Any king kong i heard its nice
F**k off
Anyone who has ever attended one of those rock festivals where people are stoned off their heads knows exactly the type of criminal behaviour associated with marijuana.
Adults suddenly transformed into irresponsible teenagers.
Imagine a whole society full of these people with legal sanction to misbehave?
Not worth thinking about really.
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