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POT LAWS

Marijuana Decriminalization Drops Youth Crime Rates by Stunning 20%

...in just one year

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by Mary Noble

Senior Editor t

Image: 420Magazine

Marijuana is one of the main reasons why California saw an astonishing 20% drop in youth crimes rates from 2010 to 2011.

The main reason for the good news is that the state decriminalized possession of less than an ounce of pot in January 2011.

After decriminalization, marijuana possession arrests among the under-18s dropped from 14,991 in 2010 to 5,831 in 2011. In other words, pot possession arrests dropped 64% in a single year, according to a new report from the Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice (CJCJ).

California's pot law decriminalized possession for minors as well as adults - unlike the recent legalizations in Washington and Colorado, which only apply to the over 21s. The California law has won praise from juvenile crime experts, who say that arresting teenagers for marijuana possession often makes them more likely to get in deeper trouble.

Via the Huffington Post.
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Comments (view in Forum)

  • DerivePI
    !
    And the use of pot further reduced violent crime rates by 100%. Theft of fast food is up, but the police are having no problems rounding up those perpetrators in the "Mystery Machine" leaking smoke just outside the restaurant.
  • View all 6 replies >
  • CanisCanemEdit
    !
    If we decriminalized shoplifting you would have the same headline: Shoplifting Decriminalization Drops Youth Crime Rates by Stunning 20%

    Decriminalizing ANYTHING will reduce the crime rate of that particular action...mainly because you quit arresting and charging them FOR that action.

    Kinda dumb story.
  • View all 25 replies >
  • Dan_Tien
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    It should be totally legalized. It is not dangerous enough to be illegal. You never hear of anyone dying of a marijuana overdose. We could reduce government spending on law enforcement, corrections and the courts while cutting profits of criminal organizations that grow and smuggle the stuff.
  • CanisCanemEdit
    !
    The difference between decriminalization and legalization is the ability for the Government to regulate and tax the marijuana for public consumption.

    It's big alcohol and big pharma that keep it "illegal".

    Decriminalization is a straw dog. The "dealers" and the "smugglers" and those making kazillions of dollars growing and processing will still be arrested and put through the system.

    Decriminalization simply means that Doobie Bob with a half ounce in his pocket won't get arrested for drug possession when he get's ticketed for jay-walking.

    (But he'll still get busted for public intoxication.)
  • Dan_Tien
    !
    @CanisCanemEdit The difference between legalization and decriminalization is that marijuana is a weed that can grow abundantly almost everywhere in the US, so in order to regulate and tax marijuana the government must still impose and enforce laws to prevent people from simply growing and harvesting the stuff for free.
  • CanisCanemEdit
    !
    @Dan_Tien -

    I think it's more on the line of strong spirits.

    People can make beer and wine at home legally....however to distill alcohol is criminal without governmental licensing and taxation.

    A few people still do it...but at risk of prosecution.

    (BTW - I don't give a fig about people smoking pot. It grows wild out here and the cows love it.)
  • Dan_Tien
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    @CanisCanemEdit Do the cows where you live giggle, behave lethargically, bump into each other a lot and produce intoxicating milk?
  • View all 13 replies >
  • MRMacrum
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    @stepped_in_it - Like your new hat there. I would guess there are many things we could agree on. How to get there, well, maybe not.
  • stepped_in_it
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    @MRMacrum Thanks.... as for how to get there, maybe we all need to realize that we are all in the same boat. We just need to find our "joint" way points and row together!
  • u
    SmedleyButler
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    I'm a retired P.O. and I say, about freaking time. The only reason it's illegal, is because the banks and our shadow government needs it for tax free profits for their their evil projects around the globe. Dominic Strauss Khan, the head of the wold band said this, and we wonder why he was set up in NYC. Not giving that perv a pass, but worth mentioning.
  • PayThatCEO
    !
    If you're a retired P.O. then you are well aware of the millions/billions of dollars made every year by every city, county, and state government in the country when it comes to minor drug arrests.

    I've traversed the legal system with a loved one with a drug problem. What a racket. Money for bail, court costs, attorney fees, probation fees, mandated drug classes, mandated DUI classes (even if you weren't under the influence) Even the DOT is in on the act because they take your license if you're arrested for possession while in your car, then make you pay to get your license back. In some states they even take your car...forever!

    Then if you get locked up for a minor offense you pay dearly for phone calls and other things.

    Everyone who can get away with it has their hand out getting a little piece of that pie. It's insane. It is, without doubt, an industry that ruins peoples' lives in order make money. It's about time that industry be shut down. Unless someone commits a crime while on drugs, then simply using drugs should not be an offense that warrants more criminal intervention than many rapes and murders.
  • u
    RobertJHarsh
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    I said it before and I'll say it again. Step 1) LEGALIZE Pot. Step 2) TAX pot, Step 3) PROFIT!!!!! In addition, pardon anyone ever convicted of a pot related crime and we can go on our merry way. It is maximum stupidity that pot is illegal (and I don't even smoke it in case your curious). Also, a good portion of tax collected should be directed into medicare and medicaid to shore up those systems.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    No brainer at all. And just like alcohol, kids under 18 will buy it. So I am hoping you mean legal to sell, not that kids should be subject to incarceration if caught with it...
  • DogLady_1
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    @PoliticalSpice - Our laws have done a great job of discouraging retailers from selling alcohol and cigarettes to kids... of course, some will still get it, but the penalties for selling to a minor have been very effective in keeping that number very low... with prohbition, it means that heroin is easier to get then alcohol... I am not too crazy about that... with legalization comes regulations for the sale of drugs... But right now, any kid will tell you it is easier to get cocaine than it is to get beer.
  • DogLady_1
    !
    @BigD1391 - Economic Stimulus indeed! Changing the focus and revitalizing our agricultural industry is essential to many of our states. Although other cash crops has sustained us in the past, many are no longer economically viable. We need a new cash crop, and hemp is perfect. It has more than 50,000 industrial uses. It has an estimated $500 billion annual export potential. Anything currently made from trees, cotton or petroleum can be made from hemp at lower cost and with less damage to the environment. Harvesting hemp is very cost-effective. Cultivation and processing would create thousands of jobs in transportation and manufacturing. A bonus would be the entrepreneurial jobs and small businesses created from the development of products made from this versatile plant. Hemp can also be used for fuels and oils. With our state's agricultural farming potential, we could easily replace one third of our needs for petroleum as a primary fuel for our major industries.
    A green economy is our nation's economic future.
  • View all 12 replies >
  • o
    Republican5001
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    In fact lets do away with the constitution and bill of rights. Country can't get any worse with democrats running two thirds of the government
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @Republican5001
    Actually it was the repubs who got rid of the constitution under Bush. Patriot Act, Real ID Act, Dept Homeland Security Act, need I go on?
  • PoliticalSpice
    !
    @Republican5001
    Oh, so shredding the constitution is the way to responding to Al Queda? My most said nothing about the not fighting Al Quada, it was entirely about the loss of the u.s. comdtitution.

    He who would exchange liberty for security for security deserve neither (Ben Franklin).
  • View all 11 replies >
  • jessejaymes
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    This really is a no brainer. For years I had retail store locations in poor areas. I watched the thugs and punks and bangers grow up. For years I have advocated the legalization of marijuana for the simple reason that these thugs, punks and bangers get them a sack of weed and they retire to the couch and will watch a test pattern on TV. They will also eat raw potatoes, brillo pads, bars of soap and never know the difference. But what they aren't doing is running the streets committing crime. Maybe after the nap. LEGALIZE.
  • DogLady_1
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    You need to read the article... it didn't say just marijuana arrests went down... it said that many other crime rates went down too. legalizing rape would have no effect on the murder rate... legalizing marijuana does...
  • o
    Sharpshooter
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    @DogLady_1 The Article

    "The main reason for the good news is that the state decriminalized possession of less than an ounce of pot in January 2011.

    After decriminalization, marijuana possession arrests among the under-18s dropped from 14,991 in 2010 to 5,831 in 2011. In other words, pot possession arrests dropped 64% in a single year, according to a new report from the Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice (CJCJ)."

    You will have a very difficult time convincing me that a drop in violent crime is somehow related to youth smoking dope.

    Figures often lie and liars ALWAYS figure. Obviously the author an agenda
  • DogLady_1
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    @Sharpshooter - the drop in violent crime is NOT related to kids smoking dope... the drop in violent crime is related to kids no longer dealing with dangerous people in order to smoke dope... kids have been smoking dope for hundreds of years... violence is related to the prohibition laws creating gangs, cartels and blackmarkets that endanger communities and their children, not the smoking of dope... Also, it is a myth that if pot became legal everyone would smoke it... that does not hold true for any drug already legalized... there is no reason to believe that it would hold true for marijuana...
  • o
    Sharpshooter
    !
    @DogLady_1 Sorry, not buying. Decriminalizing didn't change the supply chain so kids are still dealing with the same pusher. The penalty for dealers isn't changed, nor is the markup so the supply side is the same with the same motive for violence.

    If anything, decriminalizing pot creates a larger market for a product that is difficult to obtain for sales.... supply and demand will drive up prices and the added money increases the motivation to fight for ones share.

    Intoxicants of ANY KIND are not good for you, we already have alcohol and the drawbacks it brings to the table. Pot would bring it's own issues to society, many of which I presume aren't even known at this point.

    If Pot served a USEFUL purpose I would reconsider my beliefs, but getting buzzed isn't a USEFUL purpose.
  • PayThatCEO
    !
    @Sharpshooter

    You are so naive in believing that all you have to say is "intoxicants are bad" and that's going to solve everything.

    Diet sodas are bad for you. So is caffeine, red meat, hot dogs, salt, sugar, french fries, unprotected sex, and driving without a seat belt....but when it did become YOUR moral duty to tell others what they should and should not do? Why is it the government's job to step on the personal rights of others?

    For the record, I haven't smoked pot in over 30 years. I wouldn't even if it were legalized; and there are plenty of people for which legalization would hold no interest. Lots of people don't drink, but it's not their right to tell those who do drink what to do.

    As long as someone is not harming someone else, as far as I'm concerned no crime has been committed. The idea that our government can determine what we can and cannot eat, drink, smoke, or do with our own bodies is outrageous. Talk about government out of control. Talk about BIG government. When governments intervene in our personal lives, it is WAY out of hand.
  • View all 8 replies >
  • DogLady_1
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    From the Center for Juvenile Criminal Justice Center report cited in the article: "Felony arrests were down 17%, both violent and property felonies were down 16%, misdemeanor and status offenses were down 21%, and homicide was down 26%... Total arrests, felonies, rape, homicide, property crime, and misdemeanor/status offense rates now stand at the lowest levels ever reliably tabulated."
  • Malitia_Man
    !
    Question:
    Why does the US government continue to say that marijuana has no medical abilities, when that exact same government owns the patents to the medical abilities of marijuana???

    Here's a link:
    https://www.google.com/url...

    As a libertarian, I don't understand why we continue this "war on drugs"! Is there liberty when a government protects you from yourself?

    "Those who give up liberty for security, deserve neither!"
    -Ben Franklin-

    We spend BILLIONS each year housing "criminals" in prisons due to petty drug charges, while the US government is protecting poppy fields in Afghanistan for their drug corporation interest groups!!! Kind of a double standard there isn't it? We live in a Country that prosecutes its citizens for doing the exact thing that they're doing!!! Welcome to Ameika!!!
  • Politic-n
    !
    Excellent post and use of Ben Franklin's quote! The Republicans and Democrats need to realize that drug, alcohol, etc prohibition is an antiquated idea pushed by the religious fanatics who want to control people's personal lives, and use the goverment to do it.
  • Denizen_Kate
    !
    @Politic-n - What both sides of the political aisle need to do is study history. The last time we had a federal prohibition against a popular recreational drug (alcohol), we ended up with organized crime and income taxes. Those who refuse to study history deserve to repeat it.
  • o
    NO-BAMA
    !
    Make it legal for all persons under the age of 18 to do what they want and you'll see all crime statistics go down. Violent and nonviolent. Once they hit the age of 18 just make it so, that if they say they are sorry and wont do it again, then they can go back to their pot filled life of stupidity and be dependent on the government for their "munchies" stamps.
  • u
    PoleSee7
    !
    This story states an excellent point! I'm a teen who just about a month ago got arrested for under a gram of marijuana.(Possession of Marijuana in a school zone) to be exact. I've been put on probation and sent to a rehab facility. Now I am a firm believer in the positive things of Marijuana. Not even bout just getting high but the other things. There's so much that it can be used for. Rope, paper, oil, T-shirts,Tea, Medicine, ect. The list goes on an on. And I understand it was wrong for me to bring it into school. But I didn't hurt anybody. I kept it to myself, and when i got home smoked. I didn't ever smoke during school. But my grades where decent so I never saw a problem Smoking. Plus I work my ass off for my money so excuse me if I liked to take a small break and relax after a hard days work. Thats frowned upon? But it's okay for a someone to go and smoke a cigarette after a long days work which is one of the most leading causes of death in the world today? Or its okay for a man to go out to a bar after a long day of work and having the possibility of get completely smashed and drive home possibly killing another person on the way there? But if i wanna go and smoke a joint after work and go home that's a serious crime eh? Marijuana has never killed a single person EVER! But alcohol, and Tobacco are in the millions? And it kills brain cells? Hmm. Maybe cause when they tested over 15 years ago on monkeys they suffocated the monkeys with Gas masks. SUFFOCATION KILLS BRAIN CELLS! When they re-did the test a few years ago, the results did not show the destruction of brain cells, but the destruction of cancer cells. But the public herd nothing of this. I know im just a teen but i know i state some very good points. I am now on probation and group therapy for 2 months!! Sitting in a room for an hour a week talking to Crack heads, meth heads, Heroin addicts, and people on bath salts who SERIOUSLY need help. While I'm just a small town teen who enjoys smoking a bit of Weed once and a while. After talking to the people who work there a few times i realized that I'm nothing to these people besides another paycheck. While wasting time with me these people could be helping men and women who are killing themselves with processed, chemical drugs. Its time for our government to pull there heads out of there ass's and do something about this. Maybe get out of this Recession and legalize a plant that could do nothing but give positive outcomes to this country and the people who live in it.
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