Tennessee AG Thinks 'High-Grade' Cannabis Causes Violence

This attorney general believes quality weed has led to violence.

District AG Brent Cooper says the street value of higher quality weed is causing more drug-related violence in Maury County, Tennessee, stating, “Now if somebody steals your ounce of marijuana, that’s a big deal, because that costs a lot of money. And you’re more likely to do something violent to that person then you would in the past. Where you might just get mad at, and have a few words with them, now we’re seeing shootings and things like that over marijuana.”

Cooper believes that legal grow operations in the U.S. made quality herb more accessible to dealers in illegal states, where they can charge a premium for higher quality product:

“[It’s] much higher quality than the marijuana we got from Mexico. It’s grown in a more controlled atmosphere; it’s genetically altered to be more potent. And along with that, the price is extremely high.”

He believes that, as street prices rise, so does violence, but a recent study shows that’s not always the case.

Author Evelina Gavrilova stated, “The case of [medical marijuana laws] provides an important lesson for policy makers. Drug markets are well known for their violence. However, in the case of marijuana, when the supply chain of the drug is legalized, or at least decriminalized, a lot of the violence disappears and the business or organized crime structures is hurt.”