Biddle is actually correct about crime. If you truly believe that black people are criminals and marijuana laws are your shortcut to jail black people who appear threatening, then yeah. Obviously legalizing marijuana will leave more people on the streets who he feels should be labeled as criminals.

I'd like to say /s, but I'm pretty sure when they say "crime goes up," they mean "I see more black people looking comfortable wandering around in public."

In Canada, where it's legal throughout the whole damn nation:

Usage among teens (under 18) has dropped since legalisation.

There are almost no crimes associated with cannabis use aside from impaired driving.

(It used to be a cash crop for certain motorcycle enthusiast clubs)

The government has made billions in tax revenue.

It employs thousands.

Most of the bullshit talking points out there come from the assholes making money from incarcerations, and GOP psychos have been all up in that forever. I can't find the quote, but I remember the Senate hearing on Marijuana legalization where one of those southern state senators just straight up said something "Think about all the prisons we'll have to close."

Conservatives are too stupid to actually verify anything their idiot “news” media tells them.

It's not that they're too stupid. It's that they are too biased. They don't want to know the truth. Most of us acquire information and then come to a conclusion about reality. Conservatives, at least the worst of them, come to a conclusion about what they think reality is or should be and then go looking for information to support that conclusion. As long as the data supports their conclusion, it doesn't matter if the information is wrong once they have it.

Edit to remove extra word

Yeah, the crime thing is bullshit. All of their objections are bullshit. Canada is having absolutely zero problems from legalizing weed. It's been a huge positive here.

There is arguably one crime that is an issue with legal dispensaries. Since pot is still illegal federally, dispensaries don’t have access to normal banking, which makes them a cash-heavy business. Which means like other cash-heavy businesses, they’re a prime robbery target.

But there is great solution to this. Legalize it nationwide and let people pay with credit cards instead of debit or cash. Let them operate like a normal retail business.

TO BE FAIR... It fucking sucks when I live in a residential neighborhood and put my kids down for bed at 8pm, and at midnight some asshat drives by with really loud pipes or like 12" doubles in the trunk.