SIX MONTHS OF LEGAL MARIJUANA AND COLORADO HAS MORE CASH AND LESS CRIME

With the passage of Amendment 64 in November 2012, Colorado made history and became one of the first two states to approve legal regulation of the cultivation, manufacture and sale of marijuana for adults 21 and over. Colorado has become a proving ground to demonstrate the positive impacts of regulation instead of prohibition – and hopefully will promote similar efforts elsewhere.
Despite warnings from legalization opponents, Colorado looks pretty much the same as ever since regulation, if not better. Crime is down, the economy is sound, and there remains strong overall support for legalization throughout the state. Even the state’s Director of Marijuana Coordination was quick to note recently that “the sky hasn’t fallen” since the first retail shops opened on January 1st.
Though it is far too early to make any definitive declarations about emerging social trends, there are some promising indications that things are moving in the right direction here in Colorado:
According to Uniform Crime Reporting data for Denver, there has been a 10.1% decrease in overall crime from this time last year and a 5.2% drop in violent crime.
The state has garnered over 10 million in taxes from retail sales in the first 4 months. The first 40 million of this tax revenue is earmarked for public schools and infrastructure, as well as for youth educational campaigns about substance use.
There are renewed efforts to study the medical efficacy of marijuana within the state, making Colorado an epicenter for marijuana research.
The marijuana industry has developed quickly, generating thousands of new jobs. It is estimated there are currently about 10,000 people directly involved with this industry, with 1,000 to 2,000 gaining employment in the past few months alone.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who opposed Amendment 64, recently compared Colorado’s economy since legalization to that of other states by noting, “While the rest of the country’s economy is slowly picking back up, we’re thriving here in Colorado.” For example, the demand for commercial real estate has increased drastically, with houses in the state appreciating up to 8.7 percent in the past year alone.
The voters of Colorado retain an overall positive view of the regulated marijuana market, with 54% of Colorado voters still supporting marijuana legalization and regulation, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll.
By removing criminal penalties for certain marijuana-related offenses, thousands of individuals will avoid the collateral consequences associated with a criminal record. The state is estimated to potentially save $12-40 million over the span of a year simply by ending arrests for marijuana possession.
Despite a long history of government efforts to obstruct marijuana science, we now have decades of proof that the plant itself is far less harmful than its prohibition. Colorado and Washington have already changed the dialogue about drug prohibition throughout the U.S. and around the world.

 

It's kind of funny that simple arrests amount to such a huge cost. Imagine how much better spent the money would be for schools and other public services. How does stopping its use hurt the public when everyone is already using it?

 

Don't forget that there would also be extra money coming in from taxation of the marijuana. Essentially, this has been a very good move.

 

If the crime rate has gone, down and the states income has increased, that is a good sign and it is also encouraging , those are two positive things that have happened to the state nof colorado.

 

When you decriminalize, regulate and tax something like marijuana, which was already widely used in the state (as it is elsewhere) it suddenly becomes a lot less "exciting" and simply a normal thing like alcohol (compare prohibition in the US). Of course there will still be people who have troublesome addictions to pot, just as some people are addicted to alcohol, but most users will be able to act responsibly and adult-like regarding its use.

The tax revenue aspect is very important, as long as the money is put to good use. Definitely some of it needs to be used for drugs education and helping people deal with addictions.

Hopefully more and more states in the US will see the benefits of legalizing and regulating marijuana. Treat people like adults and most of them will behave that way!

 

Looking at Colorado should give other states the encouragement to legalize marijuana, especially states where crimes related to marijuana are really high, like Illinois. With this, states can not only profit from taxing marijuana sales, but they can also regulate the drug and ensure that consumers get a quality product.

 

I agree with Sam Tarly- other states should look at Colorado's experience and should consider legalizing marijuana as well. I honestly believe that marijuana like all drugs can be harmful, but I don't think that criminalizing it is the solution to the problem. I am more inclined to support legalizing and taxing the sale of the drug and then using a portion of these taxes to finance substance abuse clinics.

I think that the reason that marijuana hasn't been legalized in more states is because people fear that legalizing any single drug will lead to calls for even more dangerous drugs to be legalized. As far as I know, there are no serious calls for the legalization of cocaine or heroin in Colorado and this fact should re-assure other states that there is, in fact, no domino effect associated with drug legalization.

I think that the so called Millennial or Boomerang generation is more open to the idea of drug decriminalization and I think that as time goes on, marijuana will be legalized in more states. The reduced crime, increased tax revenue and the freeing up of law enforcement to deal with violent crime are enough reasons for our increasingly cash-strapped states to consider legalizing marijuana.

 

Seems the move is opposed by Pharma and police on financial grounds.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/poli...und-anti-marijuana-fight-2014-7#ixzz37BA816ni
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I thought the legalization of marijuana would create more crime. Seems as Colorado has it good.

 

Interesting article, and you'd definitely expect crime rates to drop when something that was illegal is now legal. Not too surprised. Just look at Portugal and how they legalized all drugs about 10 years ago and how successful it has been for them. I read somewhere that home sales in Colorado have gone through the roof as well as of late. Colorado is booming right now.