What actually happened to violent crime after Washington legalized marijuana
Washington’s violent crime rate in 2015 was substantially lower than the national rate, according to the FBI data
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
An upcoming report from a U.S. Department of Justice task force is expected to link marijuana use to violent crime, which some fear might signal the start of a Trump administration crackdown. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been quick to tie marijuana use to violent crime, fueling some advocates’ concerns about what might come out of the report from the Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety. However, since voters approved Initiative 502, FBI crime statistics show lower rates of violent crime in Washington than before legalization. The downturn in violent crime in Washington is in line with national trends. A Pew Research Center analysis of the FBI data found that nationwide, the rate of reported violent crimes in 2015 was roughly half what it was in 1993. (See also: Regulating marijuana like alcohol does not cause public safety problems)
