Medical marijuana outlets not linked to crime
Despite some concerns to the contrary, neighborhoods with medical marijuana dispensaries may not have higher crime rates than other neighborhoods - at least in one California city.
That’s the conclusion of a new study in the July issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Researchers found that, across Sacramento neighborhoods, there was no evidence that having a higher density of medical marijuana dispensaries was related to higher rates of violent crime or property crime.
As more U.S. states have legalized the use of marijuana for medical reasons, there have been growing concerns that the dispensaries that sell the drug - and the people who go there - will become targets for crime.
“The reality is, we haven’t had any evidence to support those claims,” said Nancy J. Kepple, M.S.W., a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, who led the new study.
Kepple and her colleague, Bridget Freisthler, Ph.D., looked at violent and property crime rates and the density of medical marijuana outlets in 95 different areas of Sacramento in 2009. Not surprisingly, commercial districts and neighborhoods with high unemployment rates tended to have more property crime and violent crime. But there was no correlation between crime and the concentration of medical marijuana outlets.
“This conclusion suggests that we should further question whether medical marijuana dispensaries are related to crime,” Kepple said.
But, she stressed, the study is far from the final word. The researchers looked at neighborhoods at only one point in time. So it’s not clear whether a neighborhood’s crime patterns might change over time, after more medical marijuana dispensaries are opened.
Federal Marijuana Laws
The federal government regulates drugs through the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) (21 U.S.C. § 811), which does not recognize the difference between medical and recreational use of marijuana. These laws are generally applied only against persons who possess, cultivate, or distribute large quantities of marijuana.
Under federal law, marijuana is treated like every other controlled substance, such as cocaine and heroin. The federal government places every controlled substance in a schedule, in principle according to its relative potential for abuse and medicinal value. Under the CSA, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, which means that the federal government views marijuana as highly addictive and having no medical value. Doctors may not “prescribe” marijuana for medical use under federal law, though they can “recommend” its use under the First Amendment.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), charged with enforcing federal drug laws, has taken a substantial interest in medical marijuana patients and caregivers in general, and large cultivation and distribution operations more specifically. Over the past few years, dozens of people have been targets of federal enforcement actions. Many of them have either been arrested or had property seized. More than a hundred are currently in prison or are facing charges or ongoing criminal or civil investigations for their cultivation or distribution of medical marijuana.
“This study is a good first step,” Kepple said. “But it was not designed to address the bigger picture of how these dispensaries might be affecting neighborhoods.”
In addition, the findings are based on one city, and other cities might have different experiences. Right now, 17 U.S. states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana use.
Kepple said that further studies in other cities, and studies that follow crime rates over time, would help. “The more research that’s done, the more complete a picture we’ll have.”
It would also be good to know why, at least in this study, medical marijuana outlets were not linked to crime rates, according to Kepple.
Does, for example, a dispensary’s level of security matter? In this study, information on outlets’ security measures was not incorporated. Therefore, it is not possible to tell how those might have factored in. Future studies, Kepple said, should look at whether strong security systems seem to deter crime.
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Kepple, N. J., & Freisthler, B. (July 2012). Exploring the ecological association between crime and medical marijuana dispensaries. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 73(4), 523-530.
To arrange an interview with Nancy J. Kepple, M.S.W., or Bridget Freisthler, Ph.D., please contact Alex Boekelheide at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (310) 206-0159.
The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs is published by the Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. It is the oldest substance-abuse journal published in the United States.
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Alex Boekelheide
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
310-206-0159
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs