Cannabis linked to violent crimes? Group speaks out

Cannabis is contributing to Colorado Springs crime, according to 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May.

The DA’s office says that of 22 homicides in Colorado Springs last year, eight were directly related to marijuana.

“That wasn’t somebody just using marijuana, that’s somebody being murdered — over an illegal marijuana grow,” May said in a press conference on Tuesday.

This statement was made after 13 people were indicted for allegedly distributing nearly 200 pounds of marijuana under “Hoppz Cropz” storefronts.

However, one group is saying the statistics on marijuana are all relative.

“For whatever reason, there will be, I believe a group of politicians that will stick to these pragmatic, old fashioned, outdated views,” Jason Warf, Executive Director of the Southern Colorado Cannabis Council explained. “We’ve had a huge influx in our population for probably the last decade. And I think if you look worldwide at populated areas, you’re gonna find that there’s a higher crime rate in densely populated areas, and areas in general with a higher population.”

Warf is trying to fight the negative light cast on the marijuana community, but says there’s still quite a ways to go.

“Sadly sometimes the minority numbers of the population speak the loudest, and I think that’s exactly what we’re seeing here.”