Despite the awakening of many people towards the safest intoxicating substance on the planet, some still view cannabis as a threat. People associate pot with crime, and therefore cannabis dispensaries are also associated with crime -- making communities less willing to adopt the change breaking across the Western world.
But is it really the case that dispensaries increase crime? According to a new study the opposite is true, where crime rises when dispensaries close, but not when they open.
Here are a few graphs from the paper "Going to pot? The impact of dispensary closures on crime", showing the (a.) 1 mile, (b.) 1/3 of a mile, and (c.) 1/8 of a mile around dispensaries by closure status:
At first that not seem like it means much to prove the claim that crime falls instead of rising.
Here is another look at the data, this time the percentage of change in crime by proximity is more visible:
OK, so maybe there is more crime when the pot dispensaries close, but that begs the question why is this happening?
To find that answer, we can look at other businesses that have crime when they shut down, such as restaurants. Why is it that areas where restaurants close also get an increase in crime? This will shed light on why the same happens to marijuana dispensaries.
Restaurants can close for various reasons, like no more investors, bankruptcy, or from other forces like the Department of Public Health that can close a business for good, or just a short period of time. The most common problem in Los Angeles County, CA, USA, is a vermin harborage or infestation that is responsible for shutting down 2/3 of closing restaurants, and 12% are closed from a lack of potable or hot water. Regardless of the reason, this produces less people on the street, and less eyeballs to witness or report a crime. This makes an area a better target for crime when there is less foot-traffic, even when the restaurant is closed for only a short period of time.
The same is so for cannabis dispensaries: when they close, there is less foot traffic. It's estimated that an open dispensary can essentially provide $30,000 in benefits to the local society by preventing theft. Imagine that... having a pot dispensary keeps people and the society from losing money to thieves!
This also applies to any business. The more businesses that increase foot-traffic in an area, the less crime they are likely to have.
Weed business is good business. It help keep the common crooks and thieves away from the neighborhood.
It's too bad dispensaries and growing are highly regulated, at least in Canada. It's not about decriminalizing cannabis alone to allow people to use freely, or grow freely. No. It's about legalization, whereby the state has control over who is allowed to grow industrial operations, and how they are to grow it. If people didn't try to get more product and make more money by using chemicals or toxins like Rund-Up, maybe people would be less afraid and trust people to produce the right kinds of product? Maybe then government would have less of a leg to stand on to get the support of the people who fear pot and the alleged crime it brings.
This is a problem in all industries though. Being cheap with harmful substances, or cutting corners, all in the effort to maximize profits is why regulators and inspectors are in various industries. We trust each other less when money gets involved. Rather than making a good or safe product, the concern is on making more money. So we watch and inspect, making sure wrongs aren't being done in order to make money. I think we will always need to verify things and not simply believe or blindly trust in what others are selling, be it a product or service, or an idea.