Hate to say it - But since they Closed all the Medical Marijuana Clinics down

[FreakinDJ]

Crime has fallen off like a Rock

Did not know they had a major growing facility just around the corner from my house. I knew my next door neighbor worked at one of the major dispensaries in town and she often - VERY OFTEN brought her work home with her and had people coming and going all day and night from her house. So much so her husband quit is job and ran "errands" through out the day and night too.

Used to be "If it wasn't Nailed Down - it disappeared from your home" ANY THING - and EVERY THING - any thing that could be turned in for scrap value, any thing that could be sold, any thing and every thing that you didn't put under lock and key would be stolen from your yard.

But that ALL has changed now that DEA showed up in town

I've been a long time advocate of Marijuana Legalization but if this "Grand Social Experiment in Medical Marijuana" out here in California was some sort of test, the users, growers, and dispensaries FAILED MISERABLY and will suffer the legal ramifications for decades to come.

Los Angeles County just voted to revoke all permits for dispensaries ...

[Curtland1015]

1. Well I certainly can't say you're wrong.

After all, you are the one that lived through that and not me.

But I do think that if Marijuana was just plain legal to buy at the store like booze, you probably wouldn't have seen any of that crime.

[FreakinDJ]

3. Point well taken - and there should be MUCH more control for Liquor Licensing Too

Sick and tiered of seeing "Mom and Pop" grocery stores bought up and turned into "Cigarette and Liquor Stores" with no regard for the surrounding neighborhood.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. Got any numbers to back that up?

Last time I looked, there were still 762 dispensaries in LA. Although the city council voted to ban them last week, that hasn't happened yet.

I live in California, too. I'm not aware of any link between dispensaries and local crime rates, and I certainly don't see it in my community.

[FreakinDJ]

4. It will take more then a couple of months to collect the data

but I'm VERY sure it will not favor Medical Marijuana Clinics

“In Sacramento, it’s almost the opposite. That’s why it’s so hard for anyone to generalize at this point,” she said.

In Sacramento, unemployment and poverty rates were actually higher in census tracts with dispensaries, while the differences in white populations and education levels were not statistically significant.

http://www.theweedblog.com/new-ucla-study-tracking-how-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-affect-crime-rate/

[pnwmom]

6. You're not living around the corner from one.

I think the poster is in a position to know what his neighborhood has been going through.

[Comrade Grumpy]

22. I live a couple of blocks from one.

I go by it nearly every day. There is no detrimental impact on the neighborhood. There is no crime associated with it, except it was robbed once. But you can't blame the business for being robbed, can you?

[zonkers]

15. Dispensaries have brought much foot traffic to many distressed

commercial zones. Also, many of them have security guards on duty outside all day.

I think the ones more likely to becoming a victim of crime are the dispensaries themselves.

[Luminous Animal]

5. It seems that Los Angeles grossly mismanaged their medical marijuana dispensary regulations.

Most communities have reported no increase in crime or any other problems that the fear mongers spout.

[LeftofU]

7. A little different here in Denver...

Not many "street pot dealers" anymore. I hear from friends that used to sell," i wish they would make it illegal, again."
On the flip side, I've heard that more than a few have switched to other substances. This, of course, increases supply and lowers prices. There are a lot of "budtender" obs available, though. Mixed bag I guess.

[killbotfactory]

8. In my experience, people who steal anything not nailed down are on harder drugs like meth

If they were dealing on the side like you imply, they were probably dealing something harder, since those drugs aren't sold at clinics. The DEA presence probably scared them out of it, for now.

[modem77]

9. I would prefer to see hard data on this.

Instead of speculation and correlation = causation logical fallacies. There could be many other factors here.

[Kaleva]

10. Interesting! Thanks for posting.

[Le Taz Hot]

12. And here I thought you were going to say

pot is cheaper now because there's a glut in the market. All the people who used to grow for the now-closed-down brick-and-mortar dispensaries in my area are now trying to get rid of last season's crop before the new one matures. Prices have plummeted here.

As for your "crime has gone down" claim, other posters have correctly pointed out that:

1) The dispensaries haven't actually closed yet,
2) theft is almost always associated with harder drugs such as meth, (not a lot of potheads out there ripping people off to score a bud) and
3) we should probably wait for the actual crime data before making that assertion.

[Fumesucker]

13. The plural of "anecdote" is not "data"..

And you haven't even got plural, you just have one anecdote.

[sabrina 1]

14. Looks like several studies on this issue, say you are wrong!

Study: Medical Cannabis Dispensaries Not Associated With Neighborhood Crime

Investigators at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) examined whether the proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries is associated with elevated crimes rates. Researchers assessed the spatial relationship between density of medical marijuana dispensaries and two types of crime rates (violent crime and property crime) in 95 census tracts in Sacramento, California, during the year 2009.

Researchers reported: “There were no observed cross-sectional associations between the density of medical marijuana dispensaries and either violent or property crime rates in this study. These results suggest that the density of medical marijuana dispensaries may not be associated with crime rates or that other factors, such as measures dispensaries take to reduce crime (i.e., doormen, video cameras), may increase guardianship such that it deters possible motivated offenders.

.......

The UCLA is not the first study to dispute the allegation that brick-and-mortar dispensaries are adversely associated with crime. A 2011 study of crime rates in Los Angeles published by the RAND Corporation similarly concluded, “[W]e found no evidence that medical marijuana dispensaries in general cause crime to rise.” However, shortly following its publication RAND removed the study from its website after their findings were publicly criticized by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

Other analyses of crime statistics in the cities of Denver, Los Angeles, and Colorado Springs have separately disputed the notion that the locations of dispensaries are associated with elevated incidences of criminal activity.

Other info available online also. Looks like your neighborhood had some other problems, and btw, as some have pointed out, while the law passed, dispensaries are still operating. Which one is near you and when did it close down?

Also, the article points out that the Police are the ones claiming that the dispensaries are linked to violence.

Looks like they and you may be wrong.

[loyalsister]

16. Personal on the ground experience is valuable information

I putting your bias aside and examining the issue as you did contributes to the dialogue in a helpful way. I think this is not a black and white issue. There are likely to be variables unknown to the general public - even advocates.

[sabrina 1]

17. Studies have been done on this taking variables into consideration and it seems the OP

may be wrong, or his experience is attributable to other factors. See my post above yours.

[loyalsister]

18. That was my point

I am not disputing your evidence. I just suggested there may be previously unknown variables at work. Every variable in the world can not be measured. His experience may eventually identify others that should be added to future studies.

[sabrina 1]

21. Thank you, I wasn't disputing you either, just pointing out that studies had been done

and that one person's own experience is not enough to conclude what the OP appears to be saying.

Also, the OP did not state which clinic was shut down. We would need to know that as most of them are still open being that the law just recently passed. Eg, did the clinic in his/her neighborhood close a year ago, a month ago, a week ago?

I have asked for more info, but have not received it so far.

Anyhow, sorry if it seemed I was challenging your comment. It's hard sometimes to communicate in this medium especially when in a hurry!

[Tsiyu]

19. Cool story, bro n/t

[eppur_se_muova]

20. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_hoc_ergo_propter_hoc

Maybe what you saw is real. Maybe not.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

23. The hard data from several different communities will prove interesting.

Last edited Sun Jul 29, 2012, 04:32 PM - Edit history (1)

I live in a middle class village. A year ago we had two Medical
Marijuana Dispensaries. Like any other business, one was managed
responsibly, the other was not. The later finally closed due to lack of
business and minor violations. People chose to buy at the other Dispensary
that also offered an educated staff, attractive storefront, easy parking and
involvement in the community.Whether or not there has been an
increase in crime in the area around the MMD will be determined by
city officials and they would then take action accordingly. As an
observer I have seen nothing to support a claim that there has been
an increase in crime.

One thing I wonder about is when someone buys from a dispensary for
recreational use, they buy just marijuana. If that person were to deal
with a drug dealer there may be a variety of other substances available
they would not have considered that they may then buy, use, and have
a problem with. People that want weed are going to buy it. I'd rather have
them buying it from a well run business than the house or apartment next
to me. Just sayin.

[kentuck]

25. I have at least 4 dispensaries within a few blocks of my home ....

....and I haven't noticed any increase in crime. Just my personal observation...

[Ikonoklast]

26. Have Twinkie prices shot through the roof in your neighborhood though?

[kentuck]

28. Come to think of it...

I thought it was because of the drought.

[B Calm]

27. Crime has fallen off like a rock, roflol!!!!

[kestrel91316]

29. Funny, but since the dispensary opened up next door to my clinic, the graffiti on our block has

dropped off to ZERO for the first time in 21 years. Probably has to do with the prominently placed security cameras.

I don't want to have to find a street dealer for my medical MJ. I prefer my nice, clean, chichi dispensary with the beautifully decorated waiting room, security system, and excellent recordkeeping.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

30. This sounds more like an instance of theft and resale. Your neighbor sounds

like she was running an illegal racket. If she was dealing in stolen liquor then what?

On the subject of "If it wasn't Nailed Down", couldn't you imagine that pot use will just go underground and that the same thing would still happen?

Either way this is too bad since she was stealing supplies meant for those who need it the most.


Respectfully,

RDO