Violent Crime Went Down

[MSimon]

When San Francisco Stopped Prosecuting Drug Users, Violent Crime Went Down: Police Chief Greg Suhr Talks Narcotics Enforcement

From: http://reason.com/reasontv/2014/12/02/w ... secuting-d where there is also a video.

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"I'm a narc. I've been a narcotics guy forever," says San Francisco police chief Greg Suhr. "But I'm just telling you, I've always felt bad for the people that were addicted to drugs."

Suhr is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, George Gascon, who is now District Attorney in the city and who began the process of de-emphasizing drug enforcement in the midst of cutbacks to the police force in the wake of the 2007 recession. Since Suhr has taken over, he's disbanded most of the force's narcotics unit, and drug arrests have plummeted by 85 percent.

Suhr is no fan of drug legalization. He views drug addiction as a serious public health problem, a debatable assertion with its own set of dubious public policy implications, and he looks upon drug dealers with scorn and says they are preying on the sick.

But regardless of the questionable nature of Suhr's underlying logic, San Franciso offers an enticing glimpse at what American cities might begin to look like if drugs were legalized or decriminalized. Suhr's department still makes arrests for drug dealing, but only on a complaint-driven basis. They don't go out of their way to set up stings or raids. And while causation does not equal correlation, Suhr believes that the drop in violent crime since the shift in policy began indicates that his department has its priorities straight.

[palladin9479]

You should read about what's happening in Colorado after full legalization. Violent crime plummeted as did prosecutions and law Drug related spending. What was originally estimated to be a 10 million USD tax boon to the state has blew into a 30+ million USD one. The monies have been funneled into education and law enforcement.

If you want to end prohibition then the best angle is the financial one. People will debate back and forth about social morals with only lukewarm interest but the moment it starts having significant financial impacts, well then people get serious. Other states have since signed on for full legalization and I predict we're about to see a mass exodus as more states go this route and eventual descheduling of Cannibis.