Marijuana legalization unlikely to blame for Denver crime increase
“Crime is up,” said Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson, ”but I don’t know if you can relate it to marijuana”
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Marijuana policy experts and Colorado officials urge caution when trying to grade legalization’s impacts. But there is one thing that legalization supporters, opponents and neutrals within Colorado agree on: It’s unlikely marijuana has much to do with Denver’s recent uptick in crime. Since 2012, when Colorado passed recreational marijuana legalization, the number of crimes in Denver has grown by about 44 percent, according to figures the city reported to the National Incident Based Reporting System. In the past, police have argued that system potentially overcounts crimes and have preferred to cite the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which shows a 3.5 percent increase. Both increases are tempered when taking population growth into account. (See also: Students explore impact of marijuana legalization)
