Marijuana Dispensaries in L.A. Magnets For Robbers, Violence, Organized Crime -- Report

• really a nice simple theme it is

• I so totally agree with you. MMJ doesn't bring crime up. There are many other criteria to add to the equation. Just labelling MMJ dispensaries as cesspools of crimes is not only wrong, it also is irresponsible. Beside moral values which will vary with the individuals, the fact is, people have been, are and will use marijuana, medical or not. If you want to smoke, you will. The choice that we have is either to allow buyers to access it in a safe, regulated environement, one in which the state also makes money through taxes, or to force the buyers into the arms of criminals. To make that choice easier, one can consider how he would feel would his son/daughter was to be the one pushed into a crime ridden project to buy a bowl of weed. Not everyone going that way will get into troubles but, by removing the legal way to buy pot, we create potential victims. The victims also are not only the buyer/user of the weed. As much victims of the prohibition are the kids willing (sometime needing) to make a buck and ending up with a record for life. As an example, take "Billy". At 14 years old, Billy lived with his parents. No horrible story of abuse or such for him. Home life was pretty good. Billy was simply a 14 years old like so many who wanted to have a couple bucks in his pocket. Regardless of his motivations, Billy still is only a kid who makes the decisions one can expect from a teenager. Billy started a pot delivery service that year, at 14. He ran it after school and got popular enough to be able to save for a car, take his girlfriend out..etc. It never got big but offorded him all the kind of things teenagers want. Is he a criminal? He breaks the law everyday... Billy got lucky for a few years, until his first year in College when he got busted with a few ounces. Less than a pound but enough to be indicted for possession with intent to resale. Being a smart kid, he had saved for such an issue. His money did afford him a brilliant lawyer. Roughly ten thousand dollars and many of his parents tears later, Billy got a plea deal that spared him prison and punished him only with probation. Some will state the obvious that he called it on himself but.. here we had a kid on his way to be a man, not really a criminal and definitelly not a bad guy but one who will remain stigmatised with a criminal record for the rest of his life. His professional options will be limited. There are countries that will not allow him to visit (in the same way that USA would not tolerate a tourist with a criminal record), he will be the prime suspect in any future investigation  not even involving him but just his neighborhood, driving his in-laws home after work and pulled over by the police for a broken tail light, he'll have to inform the officers of his record....etc.. Real nice... Once again and to conclude, beside Billy having the potential to be your son, your nephew or your dad and therefore changing the game's set by altering one's view on him, Billy is a kid becoming a man who sees his whole future disappearing in an instant. What we did as a society in answer to his crime is not just punish and destroy him, but also we created a very dedicated criminal. We not only did destroy a man to be but we also removed the benefits we could have received after helping him reinsert himself into society. "Criminals", for the most part are what is refered to as "A" type personnalities. They want to take charge. Some don't have the intellectual abilities when others are extremelly smart and articulate(which is often what brought them into breaking the laws in the first place). In legitimate society, Type "A" personnalities holders are CEO, politicians and everyday "Go-Getters". Regarding Billy, once his legitimate work options finish to disappear, only the illegitimate ones will remain. At this point in his life, Billy will already know about money making opportunities much more profitable than selling pot and with much less risks. Anyone visiting a prison will notice that most inmates are young. Those who aren't young usually (beside exeptions of course) have been inside for a long time. The most you learn, 6the easier it gets with very little possibilities of being caught by the laws. This -to me- is a prospect much scarier than kids selling or smoking joints.

• Behold the immaculate quintessence of yellow journalism! Excellent job, Dennis Romero! Look out Fox News!

• More muck. Statistics lieand are inaacurate almost as much as the American Press. LA is a cesspool of crime. Marijuana has very little to do with LE, the judicial system, and society's inability to supress criminal acts by thugs.  Based upon the logic expressed by the article, Banks should be shut down because they have a commodity robbers covet and can be dangerous places to work. Ditto-- taco trucks, street vendors, restaurants, donut shops, jewelry stores, liquor stores, taxi cabs, grocery stores, bars, etc. How many total homicides, shootings, robberies, assaults and thefts have been reported in Topanga and Devonshire Divisions in the last six months, let alone the last 3 1/2 years? Can all of these crimes be attributed to MJ Dispenseries, or is it societal decay? Devonshire Patrols-- Chatsworth, Chatsworth Res., Porter Ranch, Northridge, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, North Hills, Slymar, Winnettka, Van Nuys, and the unicorporated Santa Susana Mtns. Topanga Patrols-- Topanga, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Chatsworth Res., Reseda, Tarzana, West Hills, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills. So how were the stats compiled-- by absolute and specific geographical areas, or by overlapping patrol areas? Excluding  West Valley, Mission,, Foothill, and Van Nuys Divisions-- overlapping patrol areas--and sticking to the specific geographical areas of Topanga and Devonshire Divisions--specifically Chatsworth/ Chatsworth Res./ Northridge/ Porter Ranch/ Granada Hills/ North Hills/ Topanga/ Woodland Hills/ West Hills/ Canoga Park and Winnetka-- in the last reported six month period let's examine statistics that might correlate with dispensery type crimes. (LAT Crime Mapping 11-09-11) April 4, 2011 to Oct 2, 2011 reporting period Homicides-- 8 Robbery-- 229 Aggravated Assault-- 271 Burglaries-- 1249 Theft-- 1983 I think Topanga and Devonshire Divisions might have a crime problem distinct and seperate from the dispensation of the "Devil Weed."

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