People have long argued that forcing police to chase after marijuana makes society more dangerous by diverting law enforcement resources from serious and violent crimes.

New data shows that to be true: To catch more murderers and rapists, first legalize cannabis — then go after real crimes. This is consistent with America’s experiment in Alcohol Prohibition, which led to the creation of organized gangs followed by a drop in crime after repeal.

The enactment of state laws regulating adult marijuana use is associated with an increase in crime clearance rates, according to data published in the journal Police Quarterly.

Clearance rates are calculated by dividing the number of crimes that are ‘cleared’ (charges are filed) by the total number of crimes reported.

Advertisement for liquors on the eve of Alcohol Prohibition. It required a Constitutional amendment for the government to ban alcohol sales, and personal production, use and sharing remained legal, hence “bathtub gin.” There is no constitutional authority for marijuana prohibition, it is pretexted on the Interstate Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. The infamous 2005 Raich decision held that the pretext is valid because money is ubiquitous in society, hence the federal government can ban anything it wants as long as it is fungible, which means somebody somewhere might pay money for it.

Researchers crunched numbers

The theoretical benefits of legalization have become measurable since nine states have passed adult use laws, two of them six years ago in November. Groups such as Law Enforcement Action Partnership, NORML, Drug Policy Alliance, MPP, Oaksterdam University and others have argued as much for decades.

Criminologists at Washington State University assessed crime clearance rates in Colorado and Washington in the years immediately prior to and immediately following the enactment of adult use legalization.

“Demonstrable and persistent” benefits

The DEA foments drug crimes, then seizes peoples homes, children, businesses and assets, a process known as “forfeiture.” Federal legalization would force them to engage in real police work.

The researchers reported that clearance rates were either flat or decreasing prior to legalization, but then improved significantly after the change in law — particularly for violent and property crimes.

Authors concluded, “[T]he current evidence suggests that legalization produced some demonstrable and persistent benefit in clearance rates, benefits we believe are associated with the marijuana legalization proponents’ prediction that legalization would positively influence police performance.”

Other studies show broad benefits

Separate studies have previously reported an association between legalization and decreased criminal activities, including a reduction in incidences of violent crime.

Other benefits of legalization have included fewer traffic fatalities, fewer teens using cannabis, reductions in opioid use and abuse and increased revenues in states where adult sales are taxed and regulated.