Mr. Cole traveled to Providence recently to help Mr. Miller craft a strategy. He often wears a badge that reads: "Cops Say Legalize Drugs. Ask Me Why."
In his standard speech, he describes the epiphany he experienced early in his career as an undercover narcotics investigator. "I learned firsthand of the family-destroying consequences of sending drug users [often mothers and fathers] to jail. I can't think of a better policy for creating the next generation of drug addicts than to remove parents from children," he said. "I also realized that when police arrested a robber or rapist they made the community safer for everyone but when I arrested a drug pusher, I simply created a job opening for someone in a long line of people willing to take his place."
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
LEAP Featured in Wall Street Journal Article!
Former undercover narcotics detective and current LEAP executive director Jack Cole was featured in the Wall Street Journal today.
The piece, by Joel Millman, focuses on the state of Rhode Island's ongoing review and revision of its marijuana laws as an example of how the nation as a whole is reconsidering the decades-old "drug war" approach.
Please, if you have a Digg account (or even just a Facebook one), make sure to Digg this piece so that more people get the opportunity to read it and learn about LEAP's drug-legalizing cops.
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Matthew Dawson, deputy chief of the criminal division of the state attorney general's office, testified before Mr. Miller's panel last month that the state would achieve "zero savings" from decriminalization. He said police and prosecutors employed criminal charges for possession to plea bargain with suspects, and that suspects might otherwise have to be prosecuted for more serious crimes, at greater cost to the state. Others say possession charges help police cajole witnesses into cooperating in criminal inquiries.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, spoken like a true Thug Addict.
1) Completely ignore all the data from other countries and other states.
2) Do whatever you can to bring shame and guilt on others so you can manipulate them to say what you want.
3) Continue to do a disservice to our Founding Documents by encouraging people to say they're guilty of "lesser offenses" which they did not commit because they might be convicted of the outrageously harsh accusations they are threatened with a trial over.
They sound like evil blackmail artists who are never satisfied until they have a file on everyone and their "dark deeds" so they can pull them out for a rainy day to get their way.