I'm greatly in favor of legalization and hope Colorado and Washington see great success from the legalization.
But, I really want to see more than a few months' worth of data and compare it to several years of historical data.
I mean, the second point is based on 19 murders to 11 murders. Now, a reduction of even 1 murder is good. But, with such a small time frame and so many people in Denver, I'd like to wait and see at least full-year numbers. And, Denver might be in the middle of a trend of declining murder. I know Nashville saw a 35% reduction in murders in 2013 with no marijuana legalization.
Also, the total "Crimes Against Persons" category has increased by 24% - mostly attributable to "Simple Assault." Aggravated Assaults are up too. Arson has doubled, "Criminal Mischief/Damaged Property" is up, and the total number of reported criminal offenses is up by just over 10%. I guess you could make the argument that since law enforcement has more time, they can focus on other crimes, but I think this is just about reported crimes whether they actually occurred or not.
I hope that in a year, we can look back and see huge successes. I just don't think it's been long enough to really make any conclusions.