Marijuana prohibition fueling murder increase in Dayton, Ohio

(Dayton Daily News) “The trend in several of the homicides and even non-fatal shootings is that they’re related to marijuana use and sales,” said Dayton Lt. Patrick Welsh said. “That’s been an unusual uptick.”

In the past few years, Welsh said, many homicides occurred either around or because of the trafficking of heroin and cocaine.

Now, marijuana seems to be the dangerous drug. Police believe, for instance, that the suspect or suspects who shot and killed 22-year-old Richard Pogue Jr. on June 3 were possibly attempting to rob a home on Kingsley Avenue because they thought there was marijuana inside.

Two men were killed in a home at 515 N. Broadway St. that police believe could have been a place to buy marijuana.

But the amounts of marijuana involved in the incidents are relatively small, Welsh said.

No, marijuana is not the dangerous drug; prohibition of marijuana is the dangerous policy.  This should show people that the half-steppin’ measure of decriminalization is only a stop-gap measure at best and a long-term policy disaster at worst.

Ohio has the most liberal decriminalization law, one that allows individuals to possess up to 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) of cannabis.  But all decriminalization does is legalize the demand side while still criminalizing the supply side.  As this story shows, decriminalized marijuana is still illegal to buy and sell and cultivate and traffic — you’re allowed to have 100 grams of marijuana, should it fall out of the skies and into your hands.  Therefore the market in marijuana is as illegal as ever, with the concomitant effects of scarcity and risk driving up the price to the point it is worth robbing and shooting people over.

Then, rather than doing the logical thing and moving toward legalization, the cannabiphobes will point to the current robberies and killings under decriminalization and say, “See, marijuana IS a dangerous drug!  We relaxed our laws on pot and look what happened!”