The early results of our marijuana regulation survey generated considerable television coverage across Texas over the last week. With over 9,500 responses now, the survey continues to create momentum for a thoughtful conversation about marijuana regulation across the state.
To date, our survey generated TV coverage in Texarkana, Corpus Christi, Austin, Lubbock, Wichita Falls, San Antonio, Dallas, and Harlingen. Additionally, Time Warner Cable News has aired a piece on the subject across the state.
We've created a YouTube playlist of the best clips - you can watch them below:
One of the most interesting things we learned from the TV coverage is a new study from UT-Dallas on medicinal marijuana. The study by criminology professor Dr. Robert Morris found that medicinal marijuana legalization may actually reduce homicide and assault rates:
The main finding is that we found no increase in crime rates resulting from medical marijuana legalization. In fact, we found some evidence of decreasing rates of some types of violent crime, namely homicide and assault.”
The UT Dallas team began its work in summer 2012 after repeatedly hearing claims that medical marijuana legalization posed a danger to public health in terms of exposure to violent crime and property crime.
The study tracked crime rates across all 50 states between 1990 and 2006, when 11 states legalized marijuana for medical use: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Since the time period the study covered, 20 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized marijuana for medical use.
Information like that is the kind of information we're hoping to learn more about as we continue our survey and promote a thoughtful conversation about marijuana regulation in Texas.
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