WASHINGTON DC The argument that legalizing cannabis will reduce violent crime doesn’t seem to be true. On the contrary, such crime has increased in the US states where cannabis is allowed. At the same time, more and more research reports show that the drug can lead to aggressive behavior. However, it is not known why.
A report by the libertarian think tank CATO Institute has examined the effects of the legalization of cannabis in the states where it was introduced. It is an ambitious work with economics professor Angela Dills as the first name and with other economists as co-authors. However, the study has not been published in any scientific journal, and has therefore not been peer-reviewed by other experts.
Essentially, Dills and her collaborators conclude that legalization has not had much impact on violent crime, traffic accidents, public health, and school performance. Nonetheless, SAM’s opponents of legalization (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) use the findings of Dill’s report to present a graph of how violent crime has increased in four of the states that have legalized cannabis.
points out in its newsletter that violent crime rates show remarkable variations across states, and this underscores the need for continuous research efforts to understand the complex dynamics at stake. “Policymakers and researchers should actively use this data to make informed decisions that strike a balance between realizing potential benefits and mitigating the associated risks of marijuana legalization in our society.”
The results show that the frequency and severity of cannabis use were significant predictors of violent behavior. After adjusting for time, age, gender, ethnicity, diagnoses, impulsivity, and use of alcohol and stimulants, the odds ratios were 1.91, almost doubling the risk of violence compared to non-cannabis users. That risk increased the more you used. On the other hand, this study could not answer what the underlying mechanism looks like