CEOs: New pot laws allow police to focus on bigger issues
This week’s question: What effect will the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana have on the business community in Miami-Dade? Is it a good thing overall for the county?
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I believe it should not have a meaningful impact on the consumption of marijuana, yet it should allow our police force to focus on more important issues.
Daniel Ades, managing partner, Kawa Capital Management
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Decriminalization does not seem to be a driving business issue today. Law enforcement experts are best suited to determining the county’s stance.
Christine Barney, CEO, RBB Communications
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I don’t see much of an effect on the business community in Miami Dade County for the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana. I don’t agree with it, but it was a political decision and my guess is it was to cut down on arrests allowing the police force to dedicate their time on bigger issues.
Richard Behar, founder and CEO, Capitol Clothing Corp.
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I definitely believe it will have a positive impact on the county. When you decriminalize something, you remove the allure of the forbidden, so it will more than likely make people less prone to do it. Aside from that, decriminalizing marijuana will set free a number of people who should have received lighter sentences for minor infractions, also freeing the legal and prison systems. More importantly, it gives offenders a second opportunity to lead productive lives and contribute not only to their communities, but also to the local economy, through their work and spend.
Carmen Castillo, president and CEO, SDI International
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I don’t endorse substance abuse of any type. I do believe that criminalizing the small use of marijuana puts the money on the side of the criminals and does more damage than it does good. I believe if properly regulated this will be a positive for our community and for the county.
Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, managing partner, Cervera Real Estate
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Businesses’ bottom line will experience no significant impact though the real difference will be experience when the new market is opened up through full legalization. Decriminalizing will indirectly effect business through the people. Employees won’t miss work for the petty crime and bosses will not have to suffer the embarrassment of being caught. This issue is no different than when prohibition of alcohol ended. ... We will undoubtedly see a new tolerance for marijuana vendors in the near future leading to [an] increase in political options and candidates with backgrounds not previously tolerated. The larger issues, and why I run the company I run, is why Americans feel the need to escape through toxins at such a high rate. The lack of satisfaction and fulfillment that leads to drugs and alcohol dependence is what we truly need to address in order to do overall good for the country.
Pandwe Gibson, executive director, EcoTech Visions
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I don’t see decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana as having much effect on the business community other than the startup of shops selling it. If it helps reduce the number of people imprisoned or held hostage with criminal records, then it will be a good thing for the county. In a country where more than 20 million people are on Prozac and countless more are on other anti-depressants, sleeping pills, alcohol, etc., I don’t see how marijuana is any worse. In my mind, making it a criminal offense is doing more harm than good.
Julie Grimes, managing partner, Hilton Bentley Hotel
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As marijuana is quickly becoming legal around the country, I think this is a huge step to free up resources with our law enforcement and courts to tend to more pressing issues.
Felicia Hatcher, co-founder of Feverish Gourmet Pops
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Overall this will be positive for our community as far too many individuals are incarcerated or eliminated for employment because of minor drug offenses. This will mean more jobs for a population that desperately needs every advantage that they can get. Young black males have the highest unemployment rate and also the highest incidences of arrest and conviction for drug possession. In the short term, my business is in turmoil as we ask for all new policies from our clients who have not decided just yet what those policies will be.
Ann Machado, founder and president, Creative Staffing
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I’m not sure what effect decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana will have, but it should allow law enforcement to focus more on serious crimes involving potential injury and loss of life. If we notice a spike in crime or other problems soon after, we should “re-criminalize” it.
Victor Mendelson, co-president, HEICO
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In my opinion, we need to look to our law enforcement to tell us if this is good or bad for our community. Our law enforcement is already stretched and it’s up to them to determine if this can be properly managed to ensure there would not be any negative effects on the community overall.
Nitin Motwani, managing principal, Miami Worldcenter Associates
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What people do on their “own time” can have a significant effect on performance and safety in the workplace. I can see a lot of downside from this perspective — not to mention the harm that addiction can have. As for the benefits for the county (i.e. tax revenue), I am not familiar enough with the research in this dimension to comment on any positive impact of the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana.
Abe Ng, founder and CEO of Sushi Maki
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I do not have enough facts to make a specific argument. However, it seems odd to spend a lot of law enforcement time and resources on this.
Todd Oretsky, co-founder, Pipeline Brickell
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While I do not condone marijuana usage, I believe that the steps taken recently at the local level prevent people from derailing their lives forever. Even the brightest and most productive people have not been immune to a drug bust, and the ensuing criminal records some have gotten have affected their lives in permanently damaging ways — such as the subsequent inability to keep or get a job, go to school, get a loan, etc.
Eduardo Padrón, president, Miami Dade College
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This is long overdue. I am 100 percent in favor of the decriminalization of marijuana. Our criminal justice system and all its resources should be focused on preventing actual crimes — not on prosecuting personal behavior that does not harm others.
Joanna Schwartz, CEO and co-founder, EarlyShares
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At this point, I think it is inevitable that legalization of some use of marijuana will happen throughout the country. I think the focus, not unlike alcohol, should be on education and the long-term health effects of the use of marijuana.
Dave Seleski, president and CEO, Stonegate Bank
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I hope and pray minimal ... but clearly road, workplace safety and productivity are critical issues. Over all, it could be good, if redirected law enforcement resources effectively reduce our more serious crime.
Darryl K. Sharpton, president and CEO, The Sharpton Group
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I think reducing the number of people going to jail would be positive, however, it’s more important to give first offenders the opportunity for education and jobs. That is the best way of ensuring a reduction in re-offending and can be a long-term benefit to both the public and the economy.
Gillian Thomas, president and CEO, Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science
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I don’t think that it will do any harm to the business community. I don’t think we are going to see a dramatic increase in marijuana use by business professionals. It could be a good thing by freeing up law enforcement resources and keeping casual marijuana users out of the criminal justice system, which could save the county some money.
John Wood, president, Amicon Construction
This story was originally published August 23, 2015 at 3:00 PM with the headline "CEOs: New pot laws allow police to focus on bigger issues."