Yo, check it. Washington State was like, “Weed? Yeah, let’s legalize that sh*t” in 2012. It took some time for things to get rolling, but then sh*t hit the fan in 2020. Ever since then, crimes against cannabis have been going through the roof in Seattle, and business owners are feeling hella anxious about it.
So, in the summer of 2022, Mayor Jenny Durbin was all like, “Yo, this is gonna be the summer of love!” But guess what? It turned into a straight-up summer of hell. These protesters were straight-up looting downtown and taking over a major park in a popular hood. They even declared that sh*t a “free zone” and the Mayor was like, “Yeah sure, occupy the police headquarters next door.” And get this, most of the city council was like, “Nah man, it’s the police’s fault. Let’s jump on that Defund the Police bandwagon.”
And you know what happened next? The police chief was like, “I’m outta here” and then over 600 more officers dipped three years later. Crime started going through the roof and downtown was strugglin’ compared to other big cities. And as if that wasn’t enough, now we got a new problem on our hands – crimes against cannabis dispensaries are off the charts. We talkin’ about massive smash and grab burglaries happening left and right.
These crews of 2-6 people are straight-up stealing Kias and crashin’ them right into those dispensaries. They know they got mad time before the po-po show up, so they start lootin’ all them products and huntin’ for cash. Then they dip out in another car like nothing happened. Sometimes they even hit up 2 or 3 dispensaries in one night. That sh*t is wild! And you know who it’s hittin’ hard? The small business owners, man. They gotta deal with all the damage, lost products, and the time it takes to fix it all up. It’s a straight-up nightmare for them.
Now, some peeps are sayin’ that all this started because of that defund the police movement. See, before all this chaos, weed shops could use credit unions and armored cars to pick up their cash. But now with the police staffing at an all-time low and laws that make it hard for the cops to chase after these criminals, these shops are easy targets, man. They just got stacks of cash layin’ around. And you know what? If these shops could accept credit cards, it would make it way less tempting for these crooks. But nah, they gotta go after the product and cause even more damage to these already struggling businesses. It’s a messed-up situation, dude.
And let me tell you something else – this whole region is dealin’ with a fentanyl crisis. Like, we talkin’ mad overdose deaths here. In just four months of 2023, there have been 704 fatalities from that sh*t. That’s only eight less than the total for all of last year! And you know what’s crazy? The city council had a chance to do something about it by enforcing a state drug law that would’ve allowed them to prosecute people for usin’ illegal drugs in public. But nope, they voted against it and now we got even more smash and grab crimes happenin’.
But hey, there are some peeps tryna turn this sh*t around. City Council member Sara Nelson and Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison are workin’ their asses off to stop this crime spree. But you know what’s holdin’ them back? The damn City Council itself! They ain’t makin’ it easy for these two to make a difference.
And you know what’s really pissin’ everyone off? The fact that the Seattle Times is reportin’ that cannabis dispensary robberies are at an all-time high. Business owners and consumers are gettin’ hella frustrated with this mess. It’s like no one can catch a break, man.
So, there you have it. Seattle went from chillin’ and smokin’ weed to dealin’ with all this chaos and crime. It’s a rough situation for everyone involved, but we gotta keep pushin’ for change, man. We gotta find a way to bring back that chill vibe and keep these dispensaries safe. Stay strong, Seattle!
