Former Baltimore Narcotics Cop Testifies for Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana in Maryland

Tuesday Hearing on Lowering Marijuana Penalty to $100 Fine

ANNAPOLIS, MD -- A former Baltimore narcotics cop will testify before a Maryland House of Delegates committee today in favor of a bill that would decriminalize marijuana possession. The bill, HB 606, sponsored by Del. Curt Anderson (D-Baltimore City), will be heard by the House Judiciary Committee at 1:00 PM EST in Room 100.

Neill Franklin, who did narcotics work with both the Maryland State Police and the Baltimore Police Department over a 34-year career, will testify that, "The current laws force police officers in Maryland to waste hour after hour processing marijuana possession arrests. Can you imagine how many more burglaries, rapes and murders we could solve if we put these wasted man-hours toward good use? Marijuana prohibition constitutes a serious threat to public safety."

Franklin is executive director of the organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an international group of police officers, judges, corrections officials, border agents and other criminal justice professionals who have witnessed the failures of the so-called "war on drugs" firsthand.

The Maryland bill will lower the penalty for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil offense punishable by a fine of up to $100. In addition to Del. Anderson, HB 606 has bipartisan support from 20 co-sponsors and has been officially endorsed by the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.

Maryland spends over $236 million enforcing its marijuana laws every year, according to Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron.

Del. Michael Smigiel (R-Cecil County), a co-sponsor of the decriminalization bill, says that many cops are privately approaching him in support of the idea. "Many police who come before the judiciary say they don't want to have to spend all that time taking someone in for less than an ounce, booking them and going through that whole process, when there are other people out there that they could be spending their time on that are committing serious crimes," he recently told WBAL-TV.

The full text of HB 606 and other information can be found at http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/billfile/HB0606.htm

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, prison wardens, federal agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs after fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and learning firsthand that prohibition only serves to worsen addiction and violence. More info at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 22, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc

Police campaign hard against marijuana decrim in Hawaii

I received this update yesterday from a friend in Hawaii:

The police are getting busy setting up anti-pot rallies or handing out pamphlets on Maui and Kauai:

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110214_Newswatch.html
http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/546161/Police-pan-pot-proposals.html?nav=10


The attached file is what they are passing out on Kauai, and as they have the logos of all police departments, we're sure to see them here soon too.

Here is the pamphlet. You may have to click on the images to make them big enough to read:

Cops Say Obama is "All Talk, No Game" on Treating Drugs as a Health Issue (Press Release)

President Maintains Bush Administration Ratio Favoring Punishment Over Treatment

Just Weeks Ago, Obama Said We Need to "Shift Resources" But He Didn't Do It

WASHINGTON, DC -- A group of police officers, judges and prosecutors who have waged the so-called "war on drugs" is criticizing President Obama because his federal drug control budget, released today, doesn't match up to his rhetoric on treating drug abuse as a health problem.

Obama's federal drug control budget maintains a Bush-era disparity devoting nearly twice as many resources to punishment as it does for treatment and prevention, despite his saying less than three weeks ago that, “We have to think more about drugs as a public health problem," which requires "shifting resources." The president's comments came during a January 27 YouTube interview, in response to a question from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition member MacKenzie Allen, a retired deputy sheriff. Video of that exchange is available at http://www.youtube.com/CopsSayLegalizeDrugs

"I don't understand how the president can tell us with a straight face that he wants to treat drugs as a health issue but then turn around just a few weeks later and put out a budget that continues to emphasize punishment and interdiction," said Neill Franklin, LEAP executive director and a former narcotics officer in Baltimore. "The president needs to put his money where his mouth is. Right now it looks like he's simply all talk and no game."

In releasing the drug control budget today, the administration did reverse a Bush-era accounting trick that hid some costs of the "war on drugs," such as incarceration. But the drug control budget breakdown, available online at http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/policy/12budget/fy12Highlight.pdf, clearly shows that under both the new and old calculations, supply reduction receives far more resources than demand reduction does.

"The Obama administration does deserve credit for bringing to light some of the costs of the 'war on drugs' that the Bush administration tried to obscure from public scrutiny," said Franklin. "But mere accounting changes aren't going to reduce our prison population, improve our economy or put violent gangs and cartels out of business. Only real changes to drug policy, like legalizing and regulating drugs, can help us achieve those important goals."

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, prison wardens, federal agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs after fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and learning firsthand that prohibition only serves to worsen addiction and violence. More info at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 14, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc

Former Prosecutor Testifies for Indiana Bill to Create Marijuana Commission (Press Release)

Tuesday Hearing to Consider Marijuana Legalization and Decriminalization

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- A former drug prosecutor will testify before an Indiana Senate committee on Tuesday in favor of a bill that would create a commission to study the state's marijuana laws and consider alternatives such as legalization with taxation, decriminalization and medical marijuana. The bill, SB 0192, sponsored by Sen. Karen Tallian, will be heard by the Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters on Tuesday at 8:00 AM in the Senate chamber.

Jim Gierach, a former Cook County, IL prosecutor, will testify that, "Marijuana prohibition does not work now and has never worked. As alcohol prohibition showed, making a drug illegal is the single most effective way to put it in the control of violent gangs and drug cartels."

Gierach is speaker for the organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an international group of police officers, judges, corrections officials, border agents and other criminal justice professionals who have witnessed the failures of the so-called "war on drugs" firsthand.

Gierach will also tell senators that, "We can have safe streets or marijuana prohibition, but not both. We can prioritize violent crime and reserve horribly expensive and limited prison space for those who injure, kill, steal and cheat others, or we can continue to prioritize a war on drugs which has not succeeded by any measure."

Ceasing to arrest people for marijuana and regulating and taxing its sales could lead to more than $182 million a year in law enforcement savings and new revenue for Indiana, according to Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron.

"We have limited amounts of tax dollars, and the public has told us stop spending money," Sen. Tallian told the Associated Press. "So I think we need to examine now if we want to spend our tax dollars on marijuana arrests or on public education. Do we want to spend it on marijuana arrests or infrastructure?"

The full text of Sen. Tallian's bill and other information can be found at http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo?year=2011&request=getBill&docno=0192

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, prison wardens, federal agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs after fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and learning firsthand that prohibition only serves to worsen addiction and violence. More info at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 14, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc

LEAP Commends Liberal Party of Canada for Opposing Mandatory Minimums (Press Release)

Cops and Judges Commend Liberal Party Leaders for Opposing Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences

Law Enforcers Say Increased Penalties Won’t Reduce Drug Use

OTTAWA, ON -- An international organization of police officers, judges, prosecutors and federal agents is cheering the announcement by leaders of the Liberal Party of Canada that they will oppose Bill S-10, which would create new mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana and other drugs. The Liberal Party’s opposition seriously jeopardizes the bill’s chances of being enacted into law.

Although Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), the police group, does not endorse or support any political parties or any candidates for office, it does oppose Bill S-10 and the criminalization approach to drug control in general.

"The Liberal party has correctly pointed out that Bill S-10 would impose an enormous burden on taxpayers,” said Randie Long, a former prosecutor and LEAP spokesman, “but that is not the worst aspect of the bill. The bill’s supporters claim that it would increase public safety. As law enforcement professionals with decades of personal experience attempting to enforce drug laws, we in LEAP know that this is absolutely false. In fact, mandatory minimums for growing marijuana would strike hardest at the “small fry” – at friends, neighbours and relatives who simply do not belong in prison. Prison spaces are expensive and scarce: We might well be forced to release violent criminals early to make room for those who receive mandatory minimums. How would that make us safer?”

Among other things, Bill S-10 proposes to require mandatory minimum sentences for anyone convicted of growing as few as six marijuana plants.

“It is ignorant and dishonest to call the Liberal party and the other opponents of Bill S-10 ‘soft on crime,’ as some supporters of the bill have,” says Long. “Mandatory minimums are not tough on crime; they are dumb on crime. If Bill S-10 became law, the worst and most powerful gangsters would celebrate. Mandatory minimums, like other intensified enforcement efforts, do nothing but remove their competitors.”

“Mandatory minimums have been tried for decades here in the US, and have failed miserably,” adds Neill Franklin, the executive director of LEAP and a former narcotics cop in Baltimore, Maryland. “They have helped drive state governments to the edge of bankruptcy, and have left critical public services such as education starved for money. Even worse, they have ruined the lives and futures of thousands of people, while making organized crime even stronger and doing absolutely nothing to reduce drug abuse. It is unbelievable that any other country would consider imitating this disastrous experience.”

Eric Sterling, the primary author of America’s federal mandatory minimum laws, testified before the Canadian Senate last year in opposition to a previous version of the bill, emphasizing the failure of these laws in the US. Video of Sterling’s testimony is online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xobbgyr2OQs

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, federal agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs after fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and learning firsthand that prohibition only serves to worsen addiction and violence. For more information, visit http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 11, 2011

CONTACTS:  Steve Finlay – (604) 255-7741 or s_k_finlay//at//yahoo//dot//ca

Tom Angell – (202) 557-4979 or medi//at//leap//dot//cc

New Poll Shows Majority Support for Marijuana Legalization

The Economist released a new poll today showing clear majority support among Americans for legalizing marijuana.

In the poll, every age group showed greater support than opposition for legalization, including those 65 and older. Republicans and Democrats are both more likely to support than oppose legalization.

Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and a former Baltimore narcotics cop, said, "With more and more people supporting an end to marijuana prohibition, legislators are going to be feeling increasing pressure to actually change these laws. It's becoming clear that we can no longer afford - both financially and in terms of human lives - the cost of waging this war on a plant. And, soon, those lawmakers who are reluctant to support modernizing our marijuana laws will feel the political costs of their refusal to act. "

Here's The Economist's report on the poll: http://www.economist.com/node/18118857?story_id=18118857

And here's the full poll: http://media.economist.com/images/pdf/Toplines20110208.pdf

Washington Cops, Judges, Corrections Officials and Border Agents Testify for Marijuana Legalization (Press Release)

Hearing Today on Bill to Allow Marijuana Sales in Liquor Stores

OLYMPIA, WA -- A number of law enforcers who once waged the "war on drugs" submitted testimony today in support of a bill to legalize and regulate marijuana in Washington. The bill, HB 1550, sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, was heard by the House Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.

Norm Stamper, a retired Seattle chief of police, wrote that legalizing marijuana "would provide a great benefit for public safety by allowing the state’s police officers to focus on the worst crimes, protecting the people of Washington from burglaries, rapes, shootings, and drunk driving. Not only would it free up police resources, it would bring in much-needed new revenue for the state." Stamper and the other criminal justice professionals that testified today are speakers for the organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

According to Rep. Dickerson, the bill could generate $400 million in new revenue for the state every two years. Seventy-seven percent of the revenues raised would be dedicated to health care and 20 percent to substance abuse and treatment. It would legalize the use of marijuana for adults age 21 and over and allow it to be sold through state liquor stores, with commercial growers applying for a license through the Liquor Control Board.

"Drug cases and marijuana cases in particular occupy an inordinate amount of money and time," testified David Nichols, a retired Whatcom County Superior Court judge. "In addition to the court resources they waste, I witnessed the damage they inflicted upon individuals and their families and communities. And for what? Marijuana laws are not keeping anyone from using marijuana."

Also submitting testimony today were retired U.S. Customs inspector Arnold James Byron, former police officer James Peet and former Washington State Department of Corrections probation officer Matt McCally.

The full text of the bill and other information can be found at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1550

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, prison wardens, federal agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs after fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and learning firsthand that prohibition only serves to worsen addiction and violence. More info at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 8, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media//at//leap//dot//cc