Atlanta’s Decriminalization Of Marijuana ‘Led To A Reduction In Violent Crime,’ New Research Shows

A new study on Atlanta’s move to decriminalize marijuana concludes that, contrary to warnings from some critics, the policy change in fact led to a decrease in violent crime as police turned their attention to more urgent matters.

The research looks at crime surrounding the city’s 2017 reduction of penalties around the simple possession of cannabis. Prior to the change, possession of up to an ounce of marijuana was punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,500 fine. Afterward, that fell to a maximum $75 fine civil fine, with no possibility of jail time.

While some warned that loosening penalties would lead to a rise in crime rates, researchers observed the opposite.

“Our findings suggest that decriminalization led to a reduction in violent crime,” the new report says, “likely due to police reallocating resources from marijuana enforcement to violent crime prevention.”

To arrive at that conclusion, authors examined agency-level crime data from 2015 through 2018 from Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports, which included information from nearly all Georgia cities with populations over 25,000. They then compared crime rates between Atlanta and other control cities that did not decriminalize marijuana.

Relative to those control cities, the “estimated effect” of decriminalization in Atlanta was “about 20 fewer violent crimes per 100,000 people per month,” the analysis found. That’s a 19.7 percent reduction from the pre-decriminalization average.

“Our analysis finds that violent crime in Atlanta declined relative to control agencies following marijuana decriminalization, with results robust to alternative estimation methods, event studies, and placebo tests,” the report concludes. “Our estimates suggest that decriminalization led to a 20% reduction in violent crime rates relative to pre-policy levels.”

The paper says the findings align with claims from Atlanta Police Department (APD) shortly after decriminalization that officers would “focus…on violent crime and crimes that truly affect people—things that endanger lives.”

“We want to fill jails with armed robbers, rapists, burglars, home invaders—we do not want to fill the jails with pot smokers. That’s the bottom line,” APD Public Affairs Director Carlos Campos said at the time, the study notes.

Atlanta’s decreases in violent crime, the study’s authors noted, “align with APD’s stated policy shift, as department leaders emphasized reallocating resources to violent crime enforcement.”

“Importantly, this decline was not offset by crime displacement in neighboring counties,” they added.

More than a year after decriminalization in the city, crime rates were still down.

“In regard to violent crime in Atlanta,” the report says, “our results lend support to the idea that these efforts to reduce violent crime were successful in the 15 months post marijuana decriminalization.”

Results of the study are also consistent with other, past research into how ending cannabis prohibition affects crime.

“Our findings align with broader research suggesting marijuana liberalization does not increase crime and may, in some cases, reduce violent offenses,” authors wrote.

Notably, the study found that property crime rates after decriminalization remained unaffected.

The paper was published as a preprint earlier this month by Florida State University economics professor Brian Meehan and two others. It has not been peer reviewed.

Prior studies, the team noted, found “mixed effects” on crime, with some finding no impact and others observing “crime reductions and improved police performance.”

The new paper adds to a decades-long debate over how drug policies impact crime rates.

Earlier this year, for example, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) of Virginia warned that legalizing retail marijuana in that state would lead to increases in violent crime and other social ills. The sponsor of a cannabis sales bill in that state, however, has contended that legalization would in fact reduce violence and illegal sales.

In Florida last year, ahead of the state’s vote on a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis for adults, a top official in the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) claimed the reform would increase the state’s prison population.

Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon wrote in The Tampa Bay Times last summer that “it is highly likely that we will see an increase in our state’s prison population thanks to increased crime surrounding the legalization of marijuana.”

Dixon further claimed that the influx of prisoners would be a burden on taxpayers.

“Expanding the prison capacity in our state would necessitate substantial financial investments to manage the increased burden being placed on our institutions,” he said. “It is crucial for Floridians to fully understand the negative implications of Amendment 3 before they go to the ballot box this November.”

At the federal level, back in 2022, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pushed back against assertions that legalization would increase crime.

“The overwhelming evidence from the states that have legalized cannabis is there has not been an increase in crime,” he said at a press release at the time.

One aspect of the cannabis industry that may attract crime, however, is businesses’ reliance on cash. In a report on Federal Reserve policy published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) a year ago, experts wrote that limited access to banking services exacerbated the problem.

“If cannabis businesses are unable to access traditional financial services, they may face higher borrowing costs and may be heavily reliant on cash transactions, making them a target for theft,” the report said.

As for other drug-related reforms, research looking at some of the nation’s first overdose prevention centers (OPCs), in New York City, found that allowing people to use illicit substances in a medically supervised environment had not led to increased crime.

Opponents had argued that establishing the harm reduction centers would drive crime, but the study in JAMA Public Health concluded that “initial data from NYC do not support these concerns.”

Other research has indicated local-level benefits from legalization. A study of college enrollment data published last year found that states’ adoption of recreational marijuana legalization (RML) “increases enrollments by approximately up to 9%, without compromising degree completion or graduation rate.”

Increases in out-of-state enrollments further suggested the policy shift “boosts college competitiveness by offering a positive amenity,” the report says, with “no evidence that RML affects college prices, quality, or in-state enrollment.”

Marijuana Consumers Respond Better To ‘Realistic’ Anti-Impaired Driving Message That Avoid Stoner Stereotypes, AAA Study Finds

The post Atlanta’s Decriminalization Of Marijuana ‘Led To A Reduction In Violent Crime,’ New Research Shows appeared first on Marijuana Moment.