Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use

Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use

Studies conducted have shown significant decline in dependency for opioids, alcohol, and illegal drugs. Cannabis is also used to combat insomnia, anxiety, depression, alcoholism, and chronic pain. Cannabis can also help with weight loss, regulate seizures, help with ADHD/ADD and PTSD disorders, deal with pain caused by arthritis, help with tremors caused by Parkinson’s, and help provide relief to people with multiple sclerosis.

The list of benefits provided by cannabis really goes on and on. One study looked in to short term effects on neighborhood crime rights since legalization. This study ran from January 2013, prior to legalization until December 2016 and focused mainly on Colorado, more specifically the large city of Denver. Results showed that, “…an additional dispensary in a neighborhood leads to a reduction of 17 crimes per month per 10,000 residents, which corresponds to roughly a 19% decline relative to the average crime rate over the sample period,” (Brinkman and David, 2017).

The same study noted more findings. One being, “….that drug-related offenses fell by 2.3 crimes per month for a neighborhood of 10,000 residents: There was no change in the number of cannabis-related crimes after a local dispensary opened, but there were small declines in the number of offenses related to methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin,” noted that, “…the increased presence of law enforcement near dispensaries helps deter some of these offenses,” (Lawson, 2019). Read More