Today the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Tracking Authority (RMHIDTA) issued a Press Release. The report counters much of the drug lobbying group’s “spin” on marijuana.
Spin: Drug Policy Alliance’s recent Status Report: Marijuana Legalization in Colorado After One Year of Retail Sales [2014] and Two Years of Decriminalization [2013]” claims: “Since the first retail marijuana stores opened on January 1st, 2014, the state of Colorado has benefitted from a decrease in crime rates…”
Truth: According to Denver Police Department’s National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS), total reported crimes for all categories, not just the few selected by the Drug Policy Alliance, shows an overall increase of 8.6 percent from 2012 through 2013, the first year recreational marijuana was legalized. The increase continued through 2014 with a 2.5 percent increase from 2013.
Denver Police Department Reported Crimes
2012 44,338
2013 48,153
2014 49,365
Traffic Fatalities
Spin: The same Drug Policy Alliance’s Status Report: Marijuana Legalization in Colorado After One Year of Retail Sales [2014] and Two Years of Decriminalization [2013]” claims: “The decline in fatalities in 2014 marks a continuation of a 12-year long downward trend in traffic fatalities in the state of Colorado.”
Truth: According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) with information provided by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT): The past 12 years have not shown a consecutive year to year decrease. In fact, the data shows four separate years where the number of fatalities increased including 2013, the first year recreational marijuana was legalized.
Traffic fatalities have gone done nationwide as a reflection of outstanding strides in emergency room treatments. The 2014 data is still in the process of being finalized by CDOT.
There were 32 hash oil explosions in 2014, the first year recreational marijuana went on sale at retail stores, up from 11 in 2013.
30 people were burned or injured in hash oil explosions last year, 11 of them children. In 2013, there were 18 injuries reported from hash oil explosions.
Spin: The Marijuana Policy Project, Drug Policy Alliance and NORML don’t discuss the explosions. Marijuana attorney Robert Corry believes that making hash oil at home is legal under Amendment 64, although Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said it is not legal under the amendment. A frequent comment from pot promoters is that the explosions occur because marijuana is illegal. Guess they still think it’s illegal in Colorado.
