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Argument: There is no evidence of Marijuana decriminalization increasing crime
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Studies have found no evidence of a link between marijuana usage and an increase in crime, but rather have found marijuana may decrease criminal behavior when under the influence.[2][42] In 1973, a report by the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse entitled "Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding" found marijuana does not cause violent or aggressive behavior, but rather "marihuana was usually found to inhibit the expression of aggressive impulses by pacifying the user, interfering with muscular coordination, reducing psychomotor activities and generally producing states of drowsiness lethargy, timidity and passivity."[2][42]
In 2001, a report by David Boyum and Mark Kleiman entitled "Substance Abuse Policy from a Crime-Control Perspective" found the "high" from marijuana is unlikely to trigger violence and concluded:[43] “ Making marijuana legally available to adults on more or less the same terms as alcohol would tend to reduce crime, certainly by greatly shrinking the illicit market and possibly by reducing alcohol consumption via substitution if smoking marijuana acts, on balance, as a substitute for drinking alcohol rather than a complement to it since drinking seems to have a greater tendency to unleash aggression than does cannabis use. ”
In 2004, a study by Scott Bates from the Boreal Economic Analysis & Research center entitled "The Economic Implications of Marijuana Legalization in Alaska," was prepared for Alaskans for Rights & Revenues. The study found there was no link between marijuana use and criminal behavior.[21]