there never is with these things balzac and that's intentional. its more sensationalism in the media, that is used by every fear mongering, right wing christian behind a gold shield to try to prove that medical marijuana is increasing crime. and to them i say:
duh its increasing crime!
with the dispensaries and caregivers trying their best to stay within the boundaries of the law so they can continue to freely use the medicine of their choice, it forces them to be out in the open. or at least on the books somewhere. when you are on main street and have a pot leaf as a sign that says 'compassion center' or some shit, you are turned into a target. we have effectively turned what we used to call criminals into what we now call victims. and these dumb fuck teenagers that are running around stealing plants trying to score some free pot are holding this entire movement back and making things worse for all of us (don't even get me started on those 'keep pot illegal' cocksuckers in Humboldt because its the only economy they managed to build for themselves). everyone is going to twist these stories (the firebombings in Billings, the the teenagers digging a tunnel under the building into a dispensary, etc) into anti-pot rhetoric that truly is unsubstantiated, and it will have all stemmed from our states rejection of accountability. i.e., they wrote the laws (and this is true in all 14 states, even with Colorado actually adding it to their constitution) with SO MANY gray areas, that it let them pass it without any accountability on the states part, and leaving all sorts doors open for crime.
and i don't mean just the teenagers/petty criminals who are looking to get something for nothing (steal a crop thats close to harvest). i mean the cops that have personal bias/agendas against this movement and do everything they can to harass even the most law abiding of patients. 'we are just going to take your crop, we need to verify your quantity'. great, thanks dicks, now the plants will die, you will have ruined all of my medicine, and ill need to go pay ridiculous marked up prices that are 30% more expensive than street pot of the same quality, just so i can keep MY clean conscious and abide by the law.
we don't need to abolish these laws, we don't need prohibition. we need smart fucking legislators who are willing to take some fucking accountability and write a law that is clear, concise, and gives an active regulatory duty to the state, so they are forced to protect citizens from this kind of treatment.