User:HopperRanch

Do we really want to keep recreational marijuana around? If medicinal marijuana has a positive medical impact on illness, it should be allowed to help treat and comfort the sick. However, since the legalization of recreational marijuana, economic issues, homelessness, and crime have affected the State of Colorado negatively. The economic impact seen throughout the court system in Colorado was 31 organized crime filings in 2012; in 2017, there were 119, (Colorado Department of Public Safety, 2018). Other areas that marijuana use affects the economics of Colorado include; hospitalization and emergency room visits, school disciplines and achievement, and loss of jobs increasing in welfare use. Moreover, the use of tax dollars to enforce laws, court hearings, and incarceration all affect the economics of the state. Hunt (2018) argued, “For every dollar gained in tax revenue, Coloradoans spend approximately $4.50 to mitigate the effects of legalization” (p. 3). As the influx of Marijuana users arrived in Colorado, so did the increase in crime. When looking at the 30 largest cities in the nation, crime in Colorado increased more than 11 times the average of those 30 cities. (Everson, 2017). The adverse effect that recreational marijuana has on families, individuals, towns, cities and the state supported by documentation showing the increase of homelessness, crime, and the negative economic impact that affects the citizens of Colorado; should be enough to inspire an amendment, repealing Amendment 64. Accomplishing this will benefit the economic status of Colorado even more.

Stay Safe,

HopperRanch (talk) 02:44, 31 May 2019 (UTC).

References Everson, E. (2017) PENNACCHIO: Crime is up in Colorado, don’t pay for legal pot with people’s lives. (para 4). Retrieved from https://csuglobal-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_proquest1970072120&context=PC&vid=01COLSU_GLOBAL&search_scope=Everything&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US

Colorado Department of Public Safety Division of Criminal Justice  Office of Research and Statistics (2018) Impacts of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado, A Report Pursuant to Senate Bill 13‐283 (para. 10) Retrieved from https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/publicsafety/news/colorado-division-criminal-justice-publishes-report-impacts-marijuana-legalization-colorado

Hunt, J. (2018) Economics and social costs of legalized marijuana. The Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University (p. 3) Retrieved from http://www.ccu.edu/centennial/policy-briefs/marijuana-costs