Over at Politico, Chris Mitchell has an article on New York’s once and current police commissioner, William Bratton
that’s well worth reading, though not without its logical flaws. On page 3 of the article, Mitchell discusses Bratton’s lack of enthusiasm for Mayor William de Blasio’s decision to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. “The illegal marijuana trade generates most of the shootings and murders in today’s New York, he [Bratton] pointed out to me; on the other hand, too many people, in his view, are being jailed for trivial possession offenses.”
Bill? Chris? If “the illegal marijuana trade generates most of the shootings and murders in today’s New York,” then legalizing both the possession and sale of marijuana would reduce shootings and murders in New York by more than 50%! Does that sound like an idea worth trying?
