Some people have argued that cannabis shops attract crime to the surrounding neighborhood. I’m not really sure how this came to be an argument. If it was “opium dens attract crime,” I might agree. But—and this is an important distinction that some prohibitionists don’t make, bless their hearts—pot shops are not anything like opium dens, or crack houses, or meth mini-malls, or heroin hideaways.
Let’s look at three recent studies about cannabis and crime. (I am indebted to the website Marijuana Moment and its coverage and analysis of these studies.)
Cannabis stores are extremely regulated, and they have more cameras than you’ll find anywhere outside of a Kardashian set, with multiple locks, gates, and other security measures. Employees check the ID of everyone who comes in. The interiors are extremely well lit. Your local neighborhood pot shop may well be the safest building on the block, and research shows that having them take over a formerly vacant storefront also reduces crime.