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<br />Medical Marijuana Dispensaries and Their Effect on Crime <br /> <br />Opponents of medical marijuana sometimes speculate that medical marijuana <br />dispensaries will lead to increased crime rates in surrounding areas.1 These dispensaries, <br />they claim, will attract thieves and robbers to the facilities and breed secondary crimes in <br />surrounding areas. Such claims have prompted empirical and statistical analyses by <br />researchers and law enforcement agencies. In what should not come as a surprise, given <br />the robust security at most medical marijuana facilities, these studies have routinely <br />shown that, contrary to popular opinion, dispensaries are not magnets for crime. Instead, <br />these studies suggest that dispensaries are no more likely to attract crime than any other <br />business, and in many cases, by bringing new business and economic activity to <br />previously abandoned or run-down retail spaces, dispensaries actually contribute to a <br />reduction in crime. <br /> <br /> What follows is a brief summary of anecdotal and scientific evidence, including <br />law enforcement data analyses and academic research on medical marijuana dispensaries <br />and their effect on crime. For more information on dispensaries, medical use of <br />marijuana, state laws, and other issues related to medical marijuana, please visit <br />mpp.org/issues/medical-marijuana/. <br /> <br />2009 Los Angeles Police Department survey – In response to debate over medical <br />marijuana regulations by the Los Angeles City Council, and outcry from medical <br />marijuana opponents that dispensaries were magnets for crime, Los Angeles Police Chief <br />Charlie Beck asked his department to produce a report comparing the robbery rates of <br />L.A. banks and medical marijuana dispensaries. The report indicated that there were 71 <br />robbery reports filed with the LAPD at the city’s 350 banks. Despite there being far more <br />medical marijuana dispensaries — more than 800 at the time according to Beck — there <br />were fewer robbery reports filed at dispensaries; just 47. <br /> <br />When asked about the report, and claims that dispensaries are crime magnets, Beck said, <br />“I have tried to verify that because, of course, that is the mantra. It really doesn’t bear <br />out. … Banks are more likely to get robbed than medical marijuana dispensaries.”2 <br /> <br />2009 Denver Police Department survey – An analysis of robbery and burglary rates at <br />medical marijuana dispensaries conducted by the Denver, Colorado Police Department at <br />the request of the Denver City Council found that the robbery and burglary rates at <br />dispensaries were lower than area banks and liquor stores and on par with those of <br />pharmacies. Specifically, the report found a 16.8 percent burglary and robbery rate for <br /> <br />1 "‘Across the state, we're seeing an increase in crime related to dispensaries,’ said Ernie Martinez, a Denver police <br />detective who is president of the Colorado Drug Investigators Association.” “Medical marijuana dispensaries’ effect on <br />crime unclear,” The Denver Post, January 24, 2011. <br />http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_17178820#ixzz1ngbvMOlI. <br />2 “LAPD Chief: Pot clinics not plagued by crime,” Los Angeles Daily News, January 17, 2010. <br />http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_14206441.