Marijuana dispensaries decrease crime, not increase it, study finds
Future research on those areas is crucial before broad conclusions on how cannabis shops impact crime can be locked down
The Cannabist (US)
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Conventional wisdom says marijuana dispensaries make neighborhoods less safe, but a new study from UC Irvine suggests the conventional wisdom is wrong and that crime increases after cities move to close pot shops. “Given all the pretty strong rhetoric about dispensaries generating or at least attracting crime, it was not the result we expected,” said Mireille Jacobson, a health economics professor at UCI. “But I feel comfortable saying it’s very unlikely that these places are crime magnets.” Dispensaries seem to behave in this respect much like restaurants and other mainstream businesses, Jacobson said, helping to deter vehicle break-ins and other low-level crimes simply by putting more bystanders on the streets.
