In addition to the economic benefits, which are enormous and confirm that cannabis is the sector that provides the most jobs in America, legalization brings with it social benefits for the entire society.
Among these, as stated by a new scientific study published on The International Journal of Drug Policy, is the efficiency of the police, who, "freed" from prosecuting small crimes related to marijuana, can focus on the real criminals. The result? In countries that have opted for regulation, police solved more violent crimes.
More violent crimes solved in countries that legalize cannabis: the study
“Legalization can contribute to creating an environment that positively influences the performance of police officers in solving serious crimes”, this is the conclusion reached by researchers atUniversity of Utah after comparing crime data in Oregon, which legalized recreational cannabis in 2015, and other US states with more repressive laws.
The resolution rate of violent crimes it is calculated by subtracting from all the violent crimes that are reported to the police, those that are solved: that is, when an arrest is made and the respective charges are formulated.
Scholars confirm that, after legalization, they found “significant increases in resolution rate for overall violent crime and aggravated assault in Oregon counties later than those in states that have not legalized it.”
Research that confirms previous studies
This study goes to confirm one research of 2018 conducted by some independent researchers from Washington State University, who pointed out that: "Our findings suggest that marijuana legalization has influenced police outcomes in a positive way”. Crime solved rates “rose more in Colorado than in the rest of the country for all crime types, similarly, they increased in Washington compared to the rest of the country for violent crimes and thefts.”
The NORML (US National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) highlighted that the results are in line with a further 2019 study focused on the states of Washington and Colorado, which legalized cannabis in 2012. The study, published in the journal Police Quarterly, discovered that the efficiency rates of the order forces are improved “significantly” in both jurisdictions.
“Current evidence suggests that legalization has produced some demonstrable benefits and persistent in law enforcement efficiency rates, benefits that we believe are associated with the prediction of supporters of the pro-cannabis proposals that legalization would positively influence police performance, freeing it from a useless mass of old crimes relating to the simple possession of cannabis”, concluded the researchers.
Second Paul Armentano, deputy director of the NORML, these testimonies reconfirm the idea that states can regulate cannabis in a way that does not negatively impact public safety, indeed, as we have seen, legalization can contribute positively to the performance of police officers in solving serious crimes.
