2006 Rebels with Just Cause Award
Here's a real cowboy hero, riding for freedom to save justice in America. Howard Wooldridge, from Ft. Worth originally, road his horses across the US. It took them three years to cross the county as a promotional event for LEAP. He has received an award from the Long Rider's Assoc. for his effort. He shares McCool's Rebel with Just Cause Award for 2006 with Cindy Sheehan. This award honors true patriots, those who stood for freedom and those still standing.
Back
in Saddle, Preaching Drug Legalization
By COREY KILGANNON
Published: October 5, 2005 NYTimes
The retired police officer warns, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Drug prohibition causes more pain, suffering and death than the drugs themselves." Seeing the need to restore Justice, COP was founded to provide the only experienced policeman's voice working daily in Washington, DC to repeal all drug prohibitions.
COPs Stories from the weeks of January 22 & 29, 2010
That is one small step for drug reform: This week the Senate’s judiciary committee passed the Webb Commission bill out to the whole Senate by a unanimous vote. When it will be taken up and voted on by the whole Senate is unknown at this time. The concept of this bill-- a wide-ranging discussion of our prohibition strategy—has been what I have been urging the Congress to do since my arrival in 2005. It feels very, very good to see the concept moving forward.
Slow week = more time to read and write: As I said previously, the last 30 offices in the Senate are the hardest. I made 6 presentations this week. I wrote an oped. I had more time to read. I just finished a most excellent book: Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? To be able to discuss marijuana prohibition like an expert, read this book. I learned a lot and I am my 13th year of activism.
At least bring up the issue: Below* is a sample of letters I am sending out every week. These are Rs who come to Grover Norquist’s brunch and seek approval and funds. I also chat with them before or after they speak, opening with something like,’ So, what is your position on the War on Drugs/Modern Prohibition? Keep going or repeal it like 1933?’ (Continue)
James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution
of the United States, said this: "We have staked the whole future of
all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to
govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."
"In the end, however, no constitution can be self enforcing....For the
Constitution will live only if it is alive in the hearts and minds of the
American people." Roger Pilon, senior fellow and director of CATO's Center
for Constitutional Studies.
The Cato Institute offers copies of its
popular Constitution booklet. Phone Order: 1-800-767-1241
Repeat Repeal ---------------by Howard "Cowboy" Wooldridge
Howard is our man in DC educating; stamping out ignorance about this nightmare policy. He speaks all over the country with a program to end prohibition and the “War on Drugs.” Many other former law enforcement speakers against the war are available at LEAP. If you have a drug horror story or situation in your community, please email Howard or McCool so we may bring your story to the nation.
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SWISS HEROIN-ASSISTED TREATMENT 1994- 2008: SUMMARY
Overview: Due to the severe drug problem in Switzerland in the early 1990s, (rising number of injection drug users, visibility of open drug scenes, AIDS epidemic, rising number of drug related deaths, poor physical health, high criminality) the Swiss made a fundamental shift in approaching the problems caused by heroin addiction. The Swiss offer treatment-on-demand. Of an estimated 22,000 addicts, 16,500 are in treatment and 92% are given daily doses of methadone at conventional clinics. The Swiss treat about 1300 addicts with maintenance doses of heroin via 23 special clinics operating in cities and two prisons. The Swiss approach has resulted in lower rates of crime, death, disease, a drop in expected new users as well as an improvement in mental and physical health, employment and housing. The program has been copied by six countries: Germany, Holland, Belgium, England, Spain and Canada.
* To qualify for a heroin prescription: 1) at least 18 years old; 2) been addicted (daily use) for at least two years; 3) present signs of poor health; 4) two or more failed attempts of conventional treatment (methadone or other); 5) (Continue below)
by those who serve in the War on Drugs
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(SWISS HEROIN-ASSISTED TREATMENT continues)
Surrender drivers license; 6) Heroin can only be obtained at the clinic and must be consumed on site (oral or injection). (Note: Under strict control and specific criteria [for example full employment] a few are allowed to take one oral dose daily away)
Patients can receive up to three doses of
heroin per day. 60% take the heroin via needle injection, the rest via pill.
The use of the oral pill is increasing.
Patients average about three (3) years in this plan. However, they may stay
in treatment indefinitely. 20% of original patients are still in the program.
The vast majority of patients are satisfied or very satisfied with the program.
Average age of patient: 38 years.
*Crime Issues: 60% drop in felony crimes by patients. 82% drop in patients selling heroin.
*Death Rates: No one has died from a heroin overdose since the inception of the program. The heroin used is inspected for purity and strength by technicians.
*Disease Rates: New infections of Hepatitis and HIV have been reduced for patients in the program.
*New Use Rates: Lower than expected. 1) As reported in the Lancet June 3, 2006, the medicalisation of using heroin has tarnished the image of heroin and made it unattractive to young people. 2) Most new users are introduced to heroin by members of their social group and 50% of users also deal to support their habit. Therefore, with so many users/sellers in treatment, non-users have fewer opportunities to be exposed to heroin, especially in the rural areas.
*Cost Issues: 48 dollars/day: Patients pay from zero to 12 per day depending on their ability. Note: About 30% of patients work for a living and pay part of the costs. Note: The Swiss save about 30 dollars per day per patient mostly in lowered costs for court and police time, due to less crime committed by the patients.
** This summary was taken from five published reports. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health reviewed and approved its release. Additional questions should be directed to Dr. Dora Fitzli, the science and health advisor to the Swiss Ambassador at the Embassy. Her English is near native fluency. Tel: 202-745-7954
NOTE: This summary was researched and written by Howard J. Wooldridge of LEAP.
Who Supports the Drug War?
Ossama Bin Laden, President George Bush, The Ochoa Brothers, Congressman Mark Souder, Mexican Drug Cartels, DEA, FARC, National Association of Narcotics Officers, Canadian Cannabis Growers Association, Pharmaceutical Industry, Al Qaeda, Private Prison Association, Meth Makers of Mexico Association, John Walters (USA’s Drug Czar), MS-13 drug gang, California Narcotic Officers’ Association, Crips & Bloods, Deputy Chief Thomas Gorman of California, Pablo Escobars’ Amigos, Congressman Duncan Hunter, Columbian Coca Growers Association, Senator John McCain et al, Fundamentalist Christian Association, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Newsweek, Time
See a pattern here? Ever wondered why it has been so difficult to make even small changes in our policy of prohibition AKA War on People? The 10 major organizations which are trying to end the New Prohibition have a total budget of about 25 million dollars. The drug companies which fear God’s medicine, AKA marijuana, put that much in the freezers of politicians to stifle competition. Does Al Qaeda contribute to the Republican Party? If opposition to the Drug War continues to grow, Al Qaeda would be advised to funnel cash to prohibition politicians. Prohibition puts 3 billion in OBL’s hands every year. Putting 100,000 into a freezer is chump change compared to losing billions.
The California Narcotic Officers Association fears the loss of their paychecks, knowing that the sensible People of California would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana the day after the feds end the National Prohibition. Even if they did not lose their paychecks, they would be reassigned to go after drunk drivers, child predators and other public safety threats. That type of work is boring compared to kicking in a few doors a week, waving their guns around and arresting people. Heaven forbid they would have to take a stolen bicycle report!
MS-13 gang makes billions selling illegal drugs in the USA. They would not be happy to see the end of Prohibition. They would have to go back to landscape jobs! President Bush supports the Drug War to keep his Pharma Industry lobbyists happy. He views the weekly deaths of young teens who die selling these drugs on the sidewalk as ‘God’s Will.’ So no problem there. Mexican drug cartels enjoy the finest tequila and tacos in Mexico on the money they are making. As a bonus, their narco-dollars buy them influence at the Presidential Palace in Mexico City. The private prisons in the USA lobby for more mandatory drug sentences in order to keep their cash flow coming. The Meth Makers of Mexico make billions exporting their product into the US and Canada.
Congressman Mark Souder supports the Drug War because he uses it to get re-elected. “I am getting tough on drugs!” He has convinced the voters in Indiana that the 2nd trillion dollars spent on this policy will result in drugs being slightly less available to their kids. Ditto Congressman Duncan Hunter who has convinced his California constituents of the same thing. Our Drug Czar John Walters simply likes his government job with all the perks of flying around the world saying how much progress was made this year. He reminds me of General Westmoreland during the Vietnam War and body counts.
The growers of BC Bud are making billions exporting to the US the most potent pot on the continent. That industry now employs more people in British Colombia than mining or forestry. The Crips and Bloods make billions as a vertical monopoly buying in bulk and employing their members for the retail sales. Experts say that the economy of several large cities would collapse without the cash that the dealers generate for their home neighborhoods. FARC (guerrillas of Colombia) have been making billions protecting the Coca Growers of Colombia Association. FARC uses their profits to wage war on the Bogotá government.
Fundamentalist Christians are adamant that God believes the Drug War is just and righteous and that Jesus would also support it. Right. Jesus would put a cocaine user in the hell hole of a Texas prison for two years. NOT. ‘But it is immoral to use these drugs’ they say with indignation. When confronted with the fact that young teens die every week because the policy employs a million teens, they usually blame the parents for the deaths, not their support for the policy. Native Americans have used mind-altering substances for centuries. Is the Christian religion superior to their beliefs to the point that Indians should go to jail? NOT! WWJD?
The Washington Post, the New York Times, Newsweek, Time and US News & World Report all support prohibition. Could it be they do not want to upset the drug makers who take out 3-4 full page ads for their drugs? Money talks.
As you can see, the supporters of Prohibition Two are numerous and well-funded. Nonetheless, I will use my one-eyed horse Misty and my Stetson to promote the end of the most dysfunctional, immoral policy since slavery until it is in the history books, or I draw my last breath.
written by Howard J. Wooldridge
If you have 47 minutes: go to PRESSTV.
Click on ‘Programs’ located on the left side of the homepage near the top.
Click on ‘American Dream’
Click on 21 February: Human Rights in the US
US Representative Barney Frank has reintroduced a bipartisan federal bill to legalize "small amounts" of marijuana (cannabis) and make room for serious criminals. Representative Ron Paul is a cosponsor. This Texas straight talker says we are "politicizing pain." "The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009"- H.R. 2943.
“Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act”- H.R. 2835 which would allow the medical use of marijuana in states that have chosen to make its use for medical purposes legal with a doctor's recommendation. The debate over medical marijuana or cannabis is really a scandalous controversy over whether this very safe, effective, easy-to-grow herb should be allowed to compete with expensive dangerous pharmaceuticals
Harassing the sick and dying is an un-American activity.
Commissioned Art - Paintings and Sketches
"Once upon a time you or someone you love was a shining star! Commission a painting or sketch to commemorate that occasion! You can rest assured, it will not be forgotten! "
Dear Colleen:
The walls are beginning to crumble. In recent weeks, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico have all taken steps to decriminalize drug possession and treat drug abuse as a health issue, not a legal problem. In August, Mexico decriminalized the "personal use" of drugs including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Those caught with amounts under the designated limit will be encouraged to seek treatment, with treatment mandatory only for those caught three times. Five days later, Argentina's Supreme Court decriminalized the possession of marijuana intended for personal consumption, and this month, the Colombian Supreme Court also ruled that possession of illegal drugs for personal use should not be treated as a criminal offense.
These new policies attempt to distinguish between drug users and violent traffickers. But while it is certainly a step in the right direction to treat drug addiction with rehabilitation rather than incarceration, decriminalization efforts do little to Continue
hope you'll share "Dispatches from the Front Line…" with a friend.
-LEAP Staff
A Radical Solution to the Drug War- Legalize Everything (Esquire.com political columnist John H. Richardson interviews Neill Franklin)
We've heard a lot about the terrible death toll Mexico has suffered during the drug war - over 11,000 souls so far. This helps to account for the startling lack of controversy that greeted last week's news that Mexico had suddenly decriminalized drugs - not just marijuana but also cocaine, LSD, and heroin. In place of the outrage and threats that U.S. officials expressed when Mexico tried to decriminalize in 2006 was a mild statement, from our new drug czar, that we are going to take a "wait and see" approach.
Still, we've heard nothing about the American death toll. Isn't that strange? So far as I can tell, nobody has even tried to come up with a number. Until now. I've done some rough math, and this is what I found:
6,487.
To repeat, that's 6,487 dead Americans. Throw in overdoses and the cost of this country's paralyzing drug laws is closer to 15,000 lives.
I'm basing these numbers on an interview with a high-ranking former narcotics officer named Neill Franklin. A member of the Maryland State Police for 32 years, Franklin eventually rose to the position of commander in Maryland's Bureau of Drug Enforcement. As he puts it, he was a classic "good soldier" in the drug war. Franklin's turning point came in October of 2000…
To continue reading, please click
here.
Please view “The New Slavery”a video created by
LEAP Administrative Director Bill Fried which makes a dramatic link between
slavery and the war on drugs. The video is featured on our website and on You Tube.
Drug War Fail (Norm Stamper's Letter to the Editor appeared in the September/October 2009 issue of Mother Jones)
Your articles about drug war failures were most refreshing. However, as a cop on the front lines for 34 years, I take issue with your editorial claim that a "fact-based drug policy...would likely leave in place the prohibition on 'hard' drugs." Until we legalize and effectively regulate all drugs, criminals will continue to gun down rival traffickers, police officers, and innocent bystanders. And as long as we incarcerate so many people on possession charges, we won't have enough resources to tackle substance abuse.
Norm Stamper will be on the road quite a bit this fall, with tours planned
in San Francisco in September and Australia in October. For more information
on upcoming LEAP presentations, please see our online
events calendar. Invite a
speaker to your town today.
Questions or comments? E-mail us at kristin.daley@leap.cc
LEAP is a nonprofit educational organization
with Tax Exempt Status under United States tax code 501(c)3, Federal EIN:
16- 1645758.
AMAZING VIDEO EVERY PARENT SHOULD WATCH:
The ADHD Fraud: How Psychiatry Makes "Patients" of Normal Children Beware, psychiatrists earn more money from drug makers than doctors in any other specialty and there is a link between psychotropic drugs and violence including school violence!
COPS on the HILL (continues)
*Dear Mr. Warner
I saw you speak at Grover Norquist's brunch this week.
You probably know that a solid 70% of felony crime in West Virginia is caused by drug prohibition - the 40 year running, trillion dollar Bridge to Nowhere.
I hope you will bring to the Congress a drug policy based on these simple concepts: liberty, property rights, limited federal involvement.
If you would like concrete ideas to lower costs even further and improve public safety, please just ask.
I am at your service.
Sincerely,
Howard
(I was wearing the large cowboy hat at Grover's)
Hey, that guy is pretty good: I was sitting in the crime subcommittee chamber of the Virginia House listening to my mentor Eric Sterling speak to the Members, when the Army veteran who would soon address the Members on the issue of medical marijuana whispered about how good Eric was. I smiled. Read this analysis by the event’s organizer Michael Kravitz.
“Eric Sterling www.cjpf.org/, www.LEAP.cc was the star witness in favor of Decriminalization HB1134. Eric rebuffed the straw men that Delegate Bell threw in his way of 43 year olds selling to 3rd graders etc. with righteous indignation and roundly scolded the Delegates for their grade school pranks of putting a tray of brownies in the Delegates lounge or disrupting Delegate Morgan's House floor speech with Cheech and Chong jokes showing that he was paying close attention to local politics which hit pay dirt as Delegate Bell's posse had pulled those pranks. Eric said that such jokes and pranks showed they believed that marijuana use wasn't a real problem and referred to real problems such as swine flu.”
Eric was able to make the SubCommittee accept that there would have to at least be some savings from this measure and he effectively destroyed the straw men arguments set up one and again by Delegate Bell.
Where is a cop when you need one?: Highly significant at the hearing, no police officer spoke against the bill.
Do we ever thank our spouses enough for their support?: I left the house at 0720 to ride to Richmond, VA with Eric to testify. Given the usual delays, we did not testify until 6PM. Between my prepared remarks and answering questions, I ‘worked’ about 6 minutes today. Karen greeted me at the door at 11:00PM. I felt great! (see below why) There is also a URL for a TV program where I am seen testifying. (Do I need to buy a rug?)…they made me take my hat off!!!
Hey buddy, can you spare me a dime or a speaker? A month ago I asked my DEA Senate buddy, if he or another agent could take the prohibition side of a one hour marijuana debate. He replied that the DEA no longer provides speakers but was nice enough to give me the contact info of the Drug Czar’s office (ONDC). I made contact there but for a noon to 1PM debate, they had no one anywhere in the country who could make that time. Right!!!
Some reform collleagues gave me the names of several civilian organizations that might find someone. Finally David Evans of the Drug Free America Foundation stepped up. He put up about 30 straw dogs points (outright lies, half-truths, unpublished science, etc) which I spent my time knocking down. It was almost fun.
Full analysis by Michael Krawitz, event organizer
There were three main reasons why the day was historic, first because medical marijuana and decriminalization haven't been subject to debate at the Virginia Legislature since the 1970's when they looked into the marijuana laws and recommended decriminalization, see the commissions report just below. And near that same time in the late nineteen seventies the current Virginia medical marijuana law was passed.
Second, yesterday was historic because it was the first time that I have ever seen where Bills that would change marijuana penalties were debated and not one person stood up to oppose!! The union of prosecuting attorneys represented by a Commonwealth's attorney from Abington, Virginia spoke to the decriminalization Bill only to recommend changes so that they would stand un-opposed. Of course the changes were dramatic but that is the first time I have ever had the Commonwealth's Attorneys work with us on anything.
The third thing that is worth mentioning is historic by it's not happening, neither the Virginia State Police or any other police spoke against the Bills. No one at all spoke against the medical marijuana Bill!!
Activists and supporters numbering into the thousands have expressed their support and thanks to the great speakers who travelled, some a great distance, to testify. Some highlights below. I think all the speakers will agree that it was one of the most difficult forums that they have ever spoke in.
Jon Gettman, a Virginia researcher and assistant professor with a PH.D. spoke to the decrim Bill on the cost savings estimations and other facts of note to the committee. Delegate Bell led the group of Delegates Bell, Gilbert and Cline in assailing the numbers. Some of which were later supported by testimony from the Commonwealth's Attorney who said that the savings in not issuing public defenders to the [to be] non criminal cases would be a significant savings alone.
Retired police detective Howard Wooldridge www.citizensopposingprohibition.org/ spoke in favor of decriminalization from his years of experience as a cop. He was torn apart pretty hard by Delegate Bell's posse but again his words were backed up by the CommonWealth's Attorney who also said that there would be significant instant savings that wouldn't need to go back through appropriations in that cops that had time freed up from marijuana work could instantly apply that time to other activities.
Howard really shone on TV where the major local affiliate spotlighted his testimony about how decrim would enhance public safety and his testimony that marijuana was not a problem and that in all the thousands of calls he answered over the years, some even involving a death, where alcohol was the culprit marijuana had never been the cause for his dispatch.
Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 per year. Add your voice to those agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow.
Polyglot – short story: at 19 spent 3 months in Europe in 70…felt like illiterate ‘cause only spoke English. Came back to U and began German – became my minor. After 6 more months (2 trips) to mostly Germany = fluent German: Before starting LIFE, I wanted to be an average European which means 3 languages…so after graduation from Mich. State, made bunch of $$ driving a semi for United Van Lines, in Switzerland took intensive 3 month course in French and poof…tri-lingual…..police work needed Spanish = took junior college courses at night and then 3 months in Spain…poof…4 languages.
My 3 months of Arabic studies in Egypt resulted in being semi-fluent but have lost nearly all of it.. I could still piss off a terrorist on an airplane but not really carry on a conversation.
BTW, I also speak ‘horse.’…for that I needed to ride my pony across North America twice…13 months in the saddle. Okay- now I am bragging. LOL
Howard attended the 912 march on DC.
PO Box 772
Buckeystown MD 21717-0772
One
Lone Ranger Rides Again To Legalize Dope
by Howard "Cowboy" Wooldridge
By Kathleen Parker
Friday, February 13, 2009
Drink and drive and it's grrrrrrrr-eat! Smoke pot and your flakes are frosted, dude. So seems the message from Kellogg's, which has decided not to renew its sponsorship contract with Michael Phelps after the Olympian was photographed smoking marijuana at a party in South Carolina.
That's showbiz, of course, but the cereal and munchie company had no problem signing Phelps despite an alcohol-related arrest. In 2004, Phelps was fined and sentenced to 18 months probation and community service after pleading guilty to driving while impaired. The silliness of our laws -- and the hypocrisy of our selective attitudes toward mood enhancers -- needs no further elaboration. Even so, things are getting sillier by the minute.
Sheriff Leon Lott in South Carolina's Richland County has now made eight pot-related arrests based on the snap that shot around the world. Seven were for possession and one for distribution, after deputies used warrants to enter the house where Phelps allegedly was photographed.
Phelps may be next.
In an earlier column, I gave Lott the benefit of the doubt, suggesting that his hands were tied given the laws of the land and South Carolina's political climate. I retract the benefit.
Sheriffs, though elected and therefore political, have great latitude as to what crimes they pursue. In a state that recently ranked among the most dangerous in the nation, one would think South Carolina's law enforcement officials have better things to do.
Indeed, they do. In our peculiar obsession to track down the Willie Nelsons, the Rush Limbaughs and now the Michael Phelpses of society -- nonviolent, victimless imbibers of drugs -- we've actually made society less safe. That's the conclusion of 10,000 cops, prosecutors, judges and others who make up the membership of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
Howard Wooldridge, LEAP's Washington representative, is a former cop and detective who lectures civic clubs and congressional staffers on the futility of drug laws that reduce public safety by wasting time and money. He points to child pornography as just one example.
As of last April, he says, law enforcement had identified 623,000 computers containing child pornography, including downloadable video of child rape. Only a fraction of those have been pursued with search warrants, thanks to limited resources and staff shortages. What's worse, Wooldridge says, is that three times out of five a search warrant also produces a child victim on the premises.
Another example: Last year, Human Rights Watch reported that as many as 400,000 rape kits containing evidence were sitting unopened in criminal labs and storage facilities. Between the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. County sheriff's office, nearly 12,000 kits were unopened, according to an NPR report in December.
Arguments against prohibition should be obvious. When you eliminate the victimless "crime" of drug use, you disempower the criminal element. Neutering drug gangs and cartels, not to mention the Taliban, would be no small byproduct of decriminalization. Not only would state regulation minimize toxic concoctions common on the black market, but also taxation would be a windfall in a hurting economy.
No one's saying that drugs aren't dangerous. Alcohol and tobacco are also dangerous.
And no one thinks children should have access to harmful substances, though they already do. Parents who recoil because their child became an addict should note that prohibition didn't help.
What prohibition did was criminalize what is essentially a health problem -- and overcrowd prisons. In 2007, there were 872,720 marijuana arrests in the United States. Of those, 775,137 were for possession. South Carolina just added eight to this year's roster.
The greatest obstacle to drug law reform is public fear and politics, says Wooldridge, as he set off to give eight presentations on Capitol Hill yesterday. "I've had staffers tell me that to even call a hearing will get you un-elected."
Which, perhaps, explains why Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) -- the only member of Congress to even approach the subject recently -- has tackled the drug problem through the issue of prison overcrowding. Webb has held two hearings before the Joint Economic Committee on U.S. drug policy and incarceration costs. This year, he has promised to push for a blue-ribbon commission to study why the United States has more people in jail than any other country. The answer -- and the solution -- seems clear.
I'm not convinced that all drugs should be legalized, but we should at least put prohibition on the table to take another look. In the meantime, Sheriff Lott has some 'splainin' do to.
Testimony for the Joint Economic Committee
June 19, 2008
Assessing U.S. drug policy
and providing a base for future decision
Howard J. Wooldridge
Bath Township, MI Police Detective Howard J. Wooldridge, (retired)
At the hearing of the Joint Economic Committee which Senator Webb chaired on June 19, 2008 two questions asked by the Members were not fully answered. Therefore, I would like the following information be included as part of the record for that hearing.
Regarding Senator Webb’s question on how the expenditure of time to arrest some 845,000 persons per year on marijuana charges impacts other areas of law enforcement: During my fifteen (15) years of police service I learned that my profession often searches and does not find anything illegal. Thus, one can not simply extrapolate the number of arrests times X hours of time per arrest. An average of ten (10) vehicle searches must be conducted in order to find one containing marijuana. Conservatively, 7-8 million hours of patrol time are spent enforcing marijuana prohibition laws. This results in less time for effective DUI, reckless driving and other traffic enforcement priorities.
Regarding Congressman Hinchey’s question of the percentage of prisoners whose crime touches in someway drug prohibition laws: My experience as a detective and in speaking with colleagues show 70-75 % of felony crime touches drug prohibition policy.
Whether crimes committed go up or down, drug prohibition continues to be the engine driving the vast majority of felony crime in America.
stop the violent crime resulting from the War on Drugs. The cartels can only be eradicated through legalization. LEAP speakers Maria Lucia Karam and Walter McKay spoke to the U.K.'s The Guardian, and Judge Karam clearly articulates that while she welcomes the move toward decriminalization, "Unfortunately the 'war on drugs' mentality is still the dominant policy approach in Latin America. The only way to reduce violence in Mexico, Brazil or anywhere else is to legalize the production, supply and consumption of all drugs."
Here are just a few of the issues our speakers addressed in August. We
Please read Graham Boyd’s full blog at To view Jack Cole’s blog on the United Nations Conference in its entirety, including photos from the conference, please click here.
