When A Cannabis Consumer Kills, Should Marijuana Take The Rap?

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Between 1911, when Massachusetts became the first state to ban marijuana, and 1937, when Congress made pot prohibition the law of the land, cannabis acquired a reputation as a “killer drug” that drove people to irrational acts of violence. Since 2012, when Colorado became the first state to repeal its ban on marijuana, that quaint notion has made something of a comeback, mainly due to the April 2014 death of Kristine Kirk, a 44-year-old Denver mother of three, at the hands of her husband, Richard.

Richard Kirk’s shooting of his wife, which happened at their home during a 911 call in which she described  his bizarre behavior after eating a piece of THC-infused taffy, is routinely cited by pot prohibitionists as an example of what other states can expect if they legalize marijuana. Kirk himself, who last week pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, seems keen to blame his actions on...

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