Crime Rates Unaffected by Medical Marijuana Leagalisation: Study

Contrary to the claims of opponents of the legalization of cannabis use, new evidence indicates that the legalization of medical marijuana does not in-fact lead to increased crime rates, and may even be related to a drop in crime rates in some regions of the United States, according to a new study.

The study, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS One, analyzed U.S. crime rates in all 50 states between 1990 and 2006. According to the study, 11 states legalized the use of medical marijuana during that time.

The University of Texas at Dallas research team behind the study also used FBI crime rate data to collect information on murder, rape, assault, burglary, robbery, larceny, and auto-theft in each state before and after the legalization of medical marijuana.

According to the study, after an analysis of the collected data, the research team was able to include that none of the aforementioned types of crime increased following the legalization of medical marijuana.

In-fact, according to the results, crime rates actually dropped in some states soon after medical marijuana was legalized.

In a University of Texas at Dallas press release, lead author of the study, Prof. Robert Morris explained that the goal of this study was not to claim that the legalizing medical marijuana laws "definitely reduce homicide."

However, the results do add to a growing mountain of evidence that indicates that medical marijuana is not harmful to the general public, and may even be beneficial in the right  applications. A recent survey of public opinion conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal found that only eight percent of all Americans think that marijuana is a health risk, and 92 percent of Americans think that alcohol, tobacco, and even sugar are more harmful than cannabis.

Medical experts also have recently been changing their opinions of medical marijuana, acknowledging that the medical applications of the drug outweigh the potential risks of its legalization, which appear to be made less and less daunting with every new study.

The study was published in PLOS One on March 26.