It has been 3 months since Colorado legislature made the decision to legalize marijuana. Many politicians in Denver including the Mayor Michael Hancock fought the legalization claiming that legalization would lead to a rise in crime. People on both sides of the argument made many claims, but how has the city of Denver actually faired in the three months following the legalization.
The facts certainly do not show what many people, including Mayor Michael Hancock, thought. In Denver, in the three months since Colorado decided to legalize marijuana, property crime has dropped nearly 15%, violent crimes are down nearly 3 percent. This seems to be a slap in the face of people like Douglas County Sheriff David Weaver who, when asked about the legalization of marijuana, said that that he thought that the entire state would pay a big price if they decided to legalize. He said that if the state of Colorado legalized marijuana, they would become known for it which would attract more criminals to the area. Many opponents painted a pretty grim picture of what the city would look like, but in reality, things haven’t changed that much.
Crime in Denver has dropped significantly since the legalization of marijuana, but that isn’t the only thing that has happened. Marijuana legalization has made Colorado millions in tax revenue. And it might even be bringing in money from tourists who have come to see what a state with legal marijuana is like. It seems like the critics have been silenced from their painting of a lawless land run by criminals. It seems like legalization really hasn’t done that much bad.