Letter from Denver District Attorney on Marijuana and Crime

[Irving]

I think studies show illegal immigration has dropped since 2009. Don't hold me to that though.

[Big E3]

I think studies show illegal immigration has dropped since 2009. Don't hold me to that though.

I think that’s what general contractors believe as well, given the continued labor shortages.

[GilpinGuy]

I think studies show illegal immigration has dropped since 2009. Don't hold me to that though.

I haven't seen any studies, but I check 100's of IDs every week. The number of phony "consular cards" I see has skyrocketed in the last few years - many are so bad it's laughable. So much so that we simply do not accept any consular cards as acceptable ID any longer.

The number of Central and South American passports I see has skyrocketed as well. These aren't necessarily illegal aliens, but it says something as far as demographics.

I think that’s what general contractors believe as well, given the continued labor shortages.

I'm half serious and half sarcastic here, but why would an illegal alien go and work instead of just getting on government life support right away?

[Irving]

I'm half serious and half sarcastic here, but why would an illegal alien go and work instead of just getting on government life support right away?

It's very well known that most truly illegal immigrants do their best to avoid attention. Announcing yourself by signing up for government programs is the opposite of trying to stay under the radar.

[GilpinGuy]

It's very well known that most truly illegal immigrants do their best to avoid attention. Announcing yourself by signing up for government programs is the opposite of trying to stay under the radar.

Is that why so many vote?

Seriously though, how many stories have we seen about illegal aliens getting "in state tuition", food stamps, driver's licenses, etc.? It seems like many don't feel all that threatened these days if they're going and getting the "black stripe" Colorado ID that basically says I AM AN ILLEGAL ALIEN - NOT FOR FEDERAL ID PURPOSES.

[GilpinGuy]

Back to the OP.

Just say recreational MJ was legal everywhere in the US. What would happen to the overall US crime rate?

[KAPA]

Back to the OP.

Just say recreational MJ was legal everywhere in the US. What would happen to the overall US crime rate?

Ill play along... It would go up.

Gateway drug, leads to other drugs, crime, loss of employment, more social programs, medical problems, MORE crime and thus an overall negative impact on a productive society.

[Jonsey]

How much money would the pharmaceutical companies loose if MJ was legal everywhere in the US?

[cstone]

The smaller producers would eventually be gobbled up by larger producers and those large corporate producers/distributors would become the evil wealthy corporations who don't pay enough taxes. See history of tobacco and distilled spirits industry in the United States.

The power of government would be turned against the small producers who could not produce enough to pay the regulatory burden easily borne by large corporate producers. Law enforcement would focus on driving small producers out of business and a culture of bootleg pot would persist for many decades.

As a product ripe for "sin taxation" MJ would be regulated and taxed to whatever extent the market could bear. Who knows, eventually some state like Colorado could actually attempt to pass a 100% tax increase based on the logic that the proceeds would go to fund marijuana awareness and treatment programs. (See Amendment 72)

An interesting read on Colorado's MJ experiment: http://harvardjol.com/2015/08/05/goi...-amendment-64/

[Jonsey]

The smaller producers would eventually be gobbled up by larger producers and those large corporate producers/distributors would become the evil wealthy corporations who don't pay enough taxes. See history of tobacco and distilled spirits industry in the United States.

The power of government would be turned against the small producers who could not produce enough to pay the regulatory burden easily borne by large corporate producers. Law enforcement would focus on driving small producers out of business and a culture of bootleg pot would persist for many decades.

As a product ripe for "sin taxation" MJ would be regulated and taxed to whatever extent the market could bear. Who knows, eventually some state like Colorado could actually attempt to pass a 100% tax increase based on the logic that the proceeds would go to fund marijuana awareness and treatment programs. (See Amendment 72)

An interesting read on Colorado's MJ experiment: http://harvardjol.com/2015/08/05/goi...-amendment-64/

Sadly, this is good logical thinking. And they would still raise property taxes.
Also, this is why I am for a lot less regulation of everything.
I can't believe that crime would increase though as a direct result, but I am sure some may disagree with me.