Press Release: Washington State To Begin Sales of Marijuana Tuesday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 7, 2014

Contact: Darby Beck: darby.beck@leap.cc 415.823.5496

WASHINGTON BEGINS LEGAL SALES OF MARIJUANA TUESDAY

In the wake of glowing reports coming out of Colorado six months after the state began retail sales of marijuana, Washington state’s Liquor Control Board plans to issue up to 20 licenses to retail businesses today, and stores can open as early as Tuesday in theory, though few stores seem likely to be ready by that time, and since growers only received their licenses in March, supply will be limited at first.

“I’m sure the first day will be a disappointment to some consumers,” said Major Neill Franklin (Ret.), 34-year police veteran and executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of law enforcement officials opposed to the war on drugs. “But this isn’t meant to be a party. Any delays are reflective of the fact that Washington state is taking the responsibility to regulate and control this new industry seriously.”

“Washingtonians know that, as in Colorado, governments both foreign and domestic will be watching to see how legalization progresses in the state,” said Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper (Ret.), a LEAP speaker and advisory board member. “And I imagine that, as in Colorado, lower crime rates, increased tax revenue, thousands of new jobs and continuing public support will indicate legalizing and regulating marijuana is one of the simplest ways to improve not just our criminal justice system, but our state governments generally.”

Nearly 7,000 businesses applied for the 334 licenses authorized by I-502, the voter initiative which legalized marijuana in the state. Those licenses are strictly controlled and come with a host of regulations, including prohibitions on retailers being within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and other locations likely to be frequented by children. So far, no manufacturer has passed the stringent requirements surrounding marijuana-infused edibles.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is a group of law enforcement officials who, after fighting on the front lines of the war on drugs, now advocate for its end.

For interviews, please contact Darby Beck at darby.beck@leap.cc (415.823.5496).

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Law Enforcement Leaders Ask Department of Justice to Respect State Marijuana Laws

 Group Cites Public Safety Concerns Created by Illegal Marketplace

 Teleconference With Colorado and Washington Law Enforcers at 12:00 PM ET

 WASHINGTON, DC – This morning a former narcotics cop delivered a letter signed by 73 current and former police officers, judges, prosecutors and federal agents to Attorney General Eric Holder urging him not to interfere with the wishes of the voters of Colorado and Washington State to legalize and regulate marijuana.

"We seem to be at a turning point in how our society deals with marijuana," said Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, the group that authored the letter. "The war on marijuana has funded the expansion of drug cartels, it has destroyed community-police relations and it has fostered teenage use by creating an unregulated market where anyone has easy access. Prohibition has failed. Pretty much everyone knows it, especially those of us who dedicated our lives to enforcing it. The election results show that the people are ready to try something different. The opportunity clearly exists for President Obama and Attorney General Holder to do the right thing and respect the will of the voters."

Neill Franklin delivers a letter to the Department of Justice

There will be a teleconference for reporters interested in speaking with Mr. Franklin and other law enforcement signatories of the letter, as well as an NAACP leader, today at 12:00 PM ET. Please call 1-800-311-9403 (Passcode: "Marijuana"). Individual interviews are also available. The text of the letter delivered today to Eric Holder is online at http://www.leap.cc/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/leap-letter-to-doj.pdf

The signatories of the letter collectively represent more than 1,100 years of experience in law enforcement.  

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is a group of police, judges, prosecutors, corrections officials and federal agents who, after witnessing the harms of the drug war firsthand, are now devoted to ending that war. More info at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeMarijuana.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 20, 2012
CONTACT: Tom Angell -- (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc
                    Darby Beck -- (415) 823-5496 or darby.beck@leap.cc



November 20, 2012

The Honorable Eric Holder
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Mr. Attorney General and Our Colleagues in the Department of Justice,

As fellow law enforcement and criminal justice professionals we respectfully call upon you to respect and abide by the democratically enacted laws to regulate marijuana in Colorado and Washington. This is not a challenge to you, but an invitation – an invitation to help return our profession to the principles that made us enter law enforcement in the first place.

We went into law enforcement, despite its long hours and constant frustrations, because we wanted to serve our communities. We wanted to save people, to protect them, and there are few more selfless and noble callings on this earth. But the second we overthrow the will of the people, we fail to live up to the promise of that calling.

The great American political writings upon which this country was founded were based in John Locke’s concept of the social contract, which recognizes that the authority of police, and of all government, is derived from the people. And the people have spoken. To disregard the fact is to undermine the legitimacy of the ideas for which our forefathers fought and died.

This is not merely an academic argument. August Vollmer, father of professional policing and primary author of the Wickersham Commission report that served to bring an end to the prohibition of alcohol, opposed the enforcement of drug laws, saying that they "engender disrespect both for law and for the agents of law enforcement." His words ring as true today as they did in 1929. After 40 years of the drug war, people no longer look upon law enforcement as heroes but as people to be feared. This is particularly true in poor neighborhoods and in those of people of color, and it impacts our ability to fight real crime.

One day the decision you are about to make about whether or not to respect the people’s will may well come to be the one for which you are known. The war on marijuana has contributed to tens of thousands of deaths both here and south of the border, it has empowered and expanded criminal networks and it has destroyed the mutual feeling of respect once enjoyed between citizens and police. It has not, however, reduced the supply or the demand of the drug and has only served to further alienate – through arrest and imprisonment – those who consume it.

At every crucial moment in history, there comes a time when those who derive their power from the public trust forge a new path by disavowing their expected function in the name of the greater good.  This is your moment. As fellow officers who have seen the destruction the war on marijuana has wrought on our communities, on our police forces, on our lives, we hope that you will join us in seeking a better world.

Sincerely,

Executive Director Stanford “Neill” Franklin, Baltimore, MD
Retired State Police Major (34 years law enforcement experience)

Board and Advisory Board Members

Jack A. Cole, Medford, MA
Retired Police Detective Lieutenant, New Jersey State (26 years)

Peter Christ, Syracuse, NY
Retired Police Captain (20 years)

Stephen Downing, Los Angeles, CA
Retired Deputy Chief of Police (20 years)

James E. Gierach, Chicago, IL
Former Drug Prosecutor (12 years)

Leigh Maddox, Esq., Baltimore, MD
Retired Police Captain (17 years)

Joseph McNamara, Stanford, CA
Retired Chief of Police, Kansas City, MO and San Jose, CA (35 years)

Terry Nelson, Granbury, TX
Retired Customs and Border Protection Aviation/Marine Group Supervisor in Texas, Florida and Latin America (32 years)

Tony Ryan, Sioux Falls, SD
Retired Lieutenant Police Officer, Denver PD (36 years)

Richard Van Wickler, Stoddard, NH
Superintendent, Department of Corrections (25 years)

Speakers

MacKenzie Allen, Santa Fe, NM
Former Master Police Officer and Drug Detective in Seattle and Los Angeles (15 years)

Daniel-Paul Alva, Philadelphia, PA
Former Assistant District Attorney (2 years)

John Amabile, Brockton, MA
Former Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General (4 years)

James Anthony, Oakland, CA
Former Community Prosecutor (3 years)

Dean Becker, Houston, TX
Former Air Force Security Police Officer (3 years)

Nate Bradley, Sheridan, CA
Former Deputy Sheriff, Wheatland PD (5 years)

Arnold J. “Jim” Byron, Burlington, WA
Retired United States Customs Inspector in Minnesota and Washington State (31 years)

Jerry Cameron, Saint Augustine, FL
Retired Chief of Police (17 years)

George T. Cole, Chicago, IL
Retired Senior Special Agent (26 years)

Beth Comery, Providence, RI
Former Police Officer (5 years)

William John Cox, Long Beach, CA
Retired Police Officer and Prosecutor in Los Angeles and San Diego (40 years)

Richard F. Craig, Travelers Rest, SC
Former Lieutenant Police Officer, Rockland, MA PD (33 years)

Tim Datig, Egg Harbor, NJ
Retired Police Chief, St. Aldans Police Department, Vermont (28 years)

John Delaney, Bryan, TX
Retired District Court Judge, State of Texas (29 years)

Det. David Doddridge, St. George, UT
Retired Military Police Officer and Narcotics Detective, LAPD (21 years)

James A. Doherty, Seattle, WA
Former Corrections Officer and Prosecutor (7 years)

Sean Dunagan, Washington, DC
Former DEA Senior Intelligence Research Specialist (13 years)

Richard E. Erickson, Lakeport, CA
Retired Patrolman (22 years)

Jay Fleming, Mohave Valley, AZ
Former Narcotics Investigator, Spokane, WA (15 years)

Shelley Fox-Loken, Portland, OR
Retired Probation & Parole Officer (19 years)

Leonard I. Frieling, Boulder, CO
Former Judge (8 years)

Michael J. Gilbert, Ph. D., San Antonio, TX
Former Corrections Practitioner (12 years)

Diane M. Goldstein, Santa Ana, CA
Retired Lieutenant Police Officer (21 years)

Judge James P. Gray, Santa Ana, CA
Retired Superior Court Judge (32 years)

Jamie Haase, Greenville, SC
Former Special Agent and Customs Inspector, Baltimore and Laredo (10 years)

Karen E. Hawkes, Boston, MA
Retired State Trooper, First Class (13 years)

Patrick Heintz, Agawam, MA
Retired Correctional Officer/Counselor (20 years)

Wesley E. Johnson, J.D., Tulsa, OK
Former Police Officer (5 years)

Russell Jones, New Braunfels, TX
Former Narcotics Detective (10 years)

Jeff Kaufman, New York, NY
Former Police Officer, Special Assignment (8 years)

Kyle Kazan, Long Beach, CA
Retired Police Officer (5 years)

Leo E. Laurence, J.D., San Diego, CA
Former Deputy Sheriff

David M. Long, J.D., San Francisco, CA
Former Special Agent in Florida and California (9 years)

John Lorenzo, Southbury, CT
Retired Chief of Marine Police (20 years)

Paul R. MacLean, Concord, NH
Retired State Trooper (20 years)

Sean McAllister, Denver, CO
Former Assistant Attorney General of Colorado (3 years)

M. P. McCally, Renton, WA
Former Probation Counselor (7 years)

James W.F.E. Mooney, Washington County, UT
Retired Former Narcotics Undercover Agent and Corrections Official (10 Years)

Peter Moskos, New York, NY
Former Baltimore City Police Officer (2 years)

Richard D. Newton, Aviation Interdiction Agent, El Paso, TX
Retired US Customs & Border Protection in Florida, Puerto Rico and elsewhere (30 years)

Patrick K. Nightingale, Esquire, Pittsburgh, PA
Former Assistant District Attorney (6 years)

James J. Nolan - Morgantown, WV
Former Police Lieutenant and FBI Unit Chief, Wilmington, DE (13 years)

Nick Novello, Dallas, TX
Police Officer (30 years)

John O’ Brien, Fullerton, CA
Former Sheriff, Genessee County, MI (12 years)

Chad Padgett, Walton, IN
Former Correctional Officer (6 years)

James S. Peet, Ph.D., CFE, Sumner, WA
Former National Park Service Ranger, Police Officer, Alexandria, VA (6 years)

Titus Peterson, Denver, CO
Former Deputy District Attorney (5 years)

Howard L. Rahtz, Cincinnatti, OH
Retired Police Captain (30 years)

Richard Renfro, Detroit, MI
Retired Special Agent/Financial Criminal Investigator/Supervisor (25 years)

Charles M. Rowland II, Beavercreek, OH
Former Special Prosecutor (3 years)

Bob Scott, Franklin, NC
Retired Executive Officer (15 years)

Dwayne Sessom, Lawton, OK
Former Deputy Sheriff (3 years)

Carol Ruth Silver, San Francisco, CA
Retired Sheriff’s Department Prisoner Legal Services Director (1 year)

Ethan Simon, Albuquerque, NM
Former Assistant District Attorney (6 years)

Norm Stamper, Seattle, WA
Retired Chief of Police, San Diego and Seattle (34 years)

Eric E. Sterling, Washington, DC
Former Counsel to the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary (10 years)

Thomas P. Sullivan, Chicago, IL
Former U.S. Attorney (4 years)

Betty Taylor, St. Louis, MO
Former Police Chief, Winfield PD (7 years)

Jason Thomas, Denver, CO
Former Detention Officer and Deputy Marshall (2 years)

John Tommasi, Durham, NH
Retired Police Sergeant (37 years)

Kyle Vogt, Port St. Lucie, FL
Former Military Police Officer (4 years)

Richard K. Watkins, Ed. D., Huntsville, TX
Retired Senior Prison Warden (20 years)

Rusty White, Bridgeport, TX
Former Correctional Officer, Arizona State (7 years)
 

Flint “Leaders” Disregard Will of Voters, Say They Will Ignore Voter-Passed Marijuana Decriminalization Measure

 Law Enforcement Officials Declare Their Disapproval of City’s Undemocratic Approach

 FLINT, MI –The City of Flint has announced that despite a successful ballot measure decriminalizing the adult possession of marijuana approved by 54% of voters last week, it would continue to prosecute people for marijuana possession. Today Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of law enforcement officials who support legalization of marijuana publicly condemned the city’s actions. 

“This is in direct violation of the wishes of voters who opted for a decriminalization approach similar to those successfully implemented in cities across the country,” said Executive Director Neill Franklin. “Keeping marijuana illegal benefits no one. It’s expensive, ineffective, and destroys the relationship between police and the communities they serve. The citizens of Flint spoke loud and clear in favor of change. City officials should respect the wishes of the voters who put them into office and can remove them just as easily.”

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, corrections officials and others who, after witnessing the harms of the drug war firsthand, are now devoted to ending that war. More info at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeMarijuana.com. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 14, 2012

CONTACT: Tom Angell – (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc

Pro-Legalization Cops Cheer Marijuana Reform Election Results

 Nine States and Localities Vote for More Sensible Drug Laws

 Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Speakers Available for Comment

In a historic night for drug law reformers, on Tuesday Colorado and Washington passed measures legalizing and regulating marijuana, Massachusetts became the 18th state to allow medical marijuana and six localities voted to modernize policies on marijuana. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of cops, judges, prosecutors and other law enforcement officials advocating for the legalization of drugs, has speakers on hand to comment.

Norm Stamper, former Seattle police chief, had this to say: “I cannot tell you how happy I am that after forty years of the racist, destructive exercise in futility that is the war on drugs, my home state of Washington has now put us on a different path. There are people who have lost today: drug cartels, street gangs, those who profit from keeping American incarceration rates the highest in the world. For the rest of us, however, this is a win. It’s a win for taxpayers. It’s a win for police. It’s a win for all those who care about social justice. This is indeed a wonderful day.”

Reformers are now focused on successfully implementing the new marijuana legalization laws in Colorado and Washington, and on determining which states are most likely to enact legalization in the near future.

“Because of the victories in all of these places, we awakened this morning in a slightly better country. It’s a little safer, a little bit more just,” said Neill Franklin, Executive Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and 34-year veteran of the Baltimore and Maryland State police departments. “And when the rest of the country follows the lead pioneered by the voters of Colorado and Washington, we’ll be closer to living in a country with a drug policy that is truly about public safety.” 

Following is a list of all marijuana reform measures on the ballot across the country and a list of LEAP speakers available to discuss these historic reforms:

Colorado: Marijuana legalization - Passed!

Washington: Marijuana legalization - Passed!

Oregon: Marijuana legalization – Failed.

Massachusetts:  Medical marijuana - Passed!

Arkansas: Medical marijuana – Failed.

Detroit, MI: Decriminalization of adult marijuana possession - Passed!

Flint, MI: Decriminalization of adult marijuana possession - Passed!

Ypsilanti, MI: Marijuana to be lowest law enforcement priority - Passed!

Grand Rapids, MI: Decriminalization of adult marijuana possession - Passed!

Kalamazoo, MI: Three medical marijuana dispensaries permitted in city - Passed! 

Burlington, VT: Recommendation that marijuana should be legalized - Passed! 

Montana: Referendum restricting medical marijuana likely to pass. 

Sampling of LEAP speakers available for comment:

Washington 

* Norm Stamper, former Seattle police chief

* Matt McCally, former corrections official

Colorado

* Tony Ryan, retired 36-year veteran of the Denver police force

* Jason Thomas, former Colorado detention officer and marshal’s deputy

* Sean McAllister, former assistant attorney general for the state of Colorado 

Massachusetts

* Karen Hawkes, retired Massachusetts state trooper and medical marijuana patient 

* Jack Cole, LEAP co-founder and former undercover narcotics agent

Other Speakers

* Neill Franklin, LEAP executive director and 34-year Baltimore narcotics cop

* Stephen Downing, Former LAPD Deputy Chief of Police

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 7, 2012

CONTACT: Tom Angell – (202) 557-4979 or media @leap.cc

                  Darby Beck - (415) 823-5496 or darby@leap.cc

New Poll: 56% of U.S. Voters Support Legalizing Marijuana

A new poll from Rasmussen shows that marijuana legalization continues to be a mainstream, majority position among U.S. voters.  The poll finds that 56% of voters support legalization, with just 36% opposed.

LEAP's Neill Franklin, a retired Baltimore narcotics cop, had this reaction:

    "Polling now consistently shows that more voters support legalizing and regulating marijuana than support continuing a failed prohibition approach. Yet far too many politicians continue to act as if marijuana policy reform is some dangerous third rail they dare not touch. If the trends in public opinion continue in the direction they are going, the day is not far away when supporting a prohibition system that causes so much crime, violence and corruption is going to be seen as a serious political liability for those seeking support from younger and independent voters. Savvy forward-looking politicians are already beginning to see which way the wind is blowing."

Previously, Gallup found legalization leading 50%-46%.

Awaiting Neill's visit to Hawaii

Aloha to all in LEAP Blog land...

Just a quick hello, trying to get back into the habit of updating this.

We are looking forward to Neill Franklin's upcoming visit to Hawaii the week of January 29...most of his time will be (well) spent on Oahu...he's got a debate at the UH Richardson Law School, visiting classes at UH Manoa, Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific Universities, taping two segments for "Hawaii InJustice" all in place, with other events still taking form.

And, we on the Big Island will be fortunate to have Neill with us all day on Friday February 3rd in Hilo. He'll be meeting with one of the more conservative County Council members, doing a lunch presentation for the Rotary Club of Hilo (a conservative group for sure), and he will finish the day in front of a no doubt more supportive crowd at the East Hawaii Cultural Council on Kalakaua Street in downtown.

LEAP Pushes Back Against Federal Threats to Colorado's Medical Marijuana Program

Today Colorado-based and national representatives of LEAP sent a stern letter to U.S. Attorney John Walsh, pushing back against his recent threats to medical marijuana centers that operate legally under state and local law.  The full text of the letter follows, and is also available as a PDF here.


January 23, 2012

Dear U.S. Attorney John Walsh:

    As fellow law-enforcement colleagues vitally interested in the health and well-being of children, we must respectfully register our fundamental objection to your recent issuance of 23 letters threatening state-legal Colorado Medical Marijuana Centers and their landlords with civil, criminal and forfeiture sanctions. That you would justify this action on the basis of the locations in question being too close to schools for your liking (compliance with state and local law notwithstanding) is ironic and highlights the failure of the very federal marijuana prohibition policy that underlies the threats in your letter, as we’ll explain.

    Certainly, you must be aware that the voters of Colorado and the Colorado legislature – like the voters and lawmakers of 16 other states – have made it abundantly clear that marijuana is medicine for many people and for many ailments, and that its use and provision to patients should be allowed under the law.

    Almost two years ago, in a bipartisan fashion, the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives enacted a strict dual licensing system for Medical Marijuana Centers that requires a license by the local and state government. All the businesses you have targeted are operating with approval from their local governments and the state of Colorado.

        For you to join maverick prosecutors in California, Montana, Rhode Island, Washington and other states in going out of your way to short-circuit the will of the people and their elected representatives and to place obstacles between patients and their medicine is short-sighted and inimical to the public health, safety and welfare.  Your actions bring law-enforcement into disrepute with the spoken will of the voters and their state representatives.

    No law prohibits the location of a physician’s office, hospital or pharmacy within 1,000 feet of a school.  So, why would you exercise your prosecutorial discretion in such a way so as to make life more difficult for certain patients and their caregivers in Colorado? It’s not as if these actions will do anything to reduce the illegal trade in marijuana – near schools or otherwise. Expect quite the opposite.
         
    Those of us who have been working on the front lines to enforce – and reform – the drug laws in this country for years have frequently heard about medical marijuana patients who had to hit the streets to find the doctor-recommended medicine they needed. The medical marijuana centers in Colorado have provided patients like this a safe alternative and have reduced marijuana distribution on the streets. You are doing a disservice to the state of Colorado by using your discretionary prosecutorial power to undermine state and local regulations in a manner that will likely increase the underground distribution of marijuana.

    You seek to put medicine outside the reach of sick people in the name of law enforcement and federal legal superiority under the guise of a minimum 1,000-foot separation between a school and medicine.

    Instead, please recognize that the longstanding policy of prohibition itself – which we, like you, were once charged with enforcing – has made schools and parks the focal point for drug distribution, drug information and drug requisition.

    We can blame marijuana prohibition for the fact that the federal Monitoring the Future study found that a whopping 82% of high school seniors say that it would be “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get their hands on marijuana. Sixty-nine percent of tenth graders report the same thing. Prohibition-empowered drug dealers within our schools are responsible, not licensed and regulated dispensaries. Studies from Brown University and elsewhere show that state medical marijuana laws have not led to increases in teenage marijuana use rates compared to states without legal medical marijuana. Any federal actions to expand the reach of marijuana prohibition and close down Medical Marijuana Centers in Colorado will not be good for public safety, they won’t be good for kids and they certainly won’t help patients.

    Prosecutorial discretion is broad but not without limits, such as good reason, thoughtfulness, judgment and a rational relationship to the public health, safety and welfare, not to mention the will of the people of the State of Colorado. Please consider the full consequences of following through on your recent letters before any further action by your office on this matter.

Sincerely,
 
Neill Franklin
Executive Director
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Leonard Frieling
Former Municipal Court Judge, Lafayette, Colorado
Practicing Criminal Defense Attorney, Boulder, Colorado

Tony Ryan
Retired Lieutenant Police Officer, Denver Colorado

New York Times: Active Duty Cops Face Difficulties Joining LEAP

Over the weekend, the New York Times published a story on the emerging debate within law enforcement about whether we need to end the "war on drugs," and the fact that some officers who support legalization are facing problems on the job.

Stationed in Deming, N.M., [Bryan] Gonzalez was in his green-and-white Border Patrol vehicle just a few feet from the international boundary when he pulled up next to a fellow agent to chat about the frustrations of the job. If marijuana were legalized, Mr. Gonzalez acknowledges saying, the drug-related violence across the border in Mexico would cease. He then brought up an organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition that favors ending the war on drugs.

Those remarks, along with others expressing sympathy for illegal immigrants from Mexico, were passed along to the Border Patrol headquarters in Washington. After an investigation, a termination letter arrived that said Mr. Gonzalez held “personal views that were contrary to core characteristics of Border Patrol Agents, which are patriotism, dedication and esprit de corps.”

...

In Arizona, Joe Miller, a probation officer in Mohave County, near the California border, filed suit last month in Federal District Court after he was dismissed for adding his name to a letter by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, which is based in Medford, Mass., and known as LEAP, expressing support for the decriminalization of marijuana.

...

“No one wants to be fired and have to fight for their job in court,” said Neill Franklin, a retired police officer who is LEAP’s executive director. “So most officers are reluctant to sign on board. But we do have some brave souls.”

...

In the case of Mr. Gonzalez, the fired Border Patrol agent, he had not joined LEAP but had expressed sympathy with the group’s cause. “It didn’t make sense to me why marijuana is illegal,” he said. “To see that thousands of people are dying, some of whom I know, makes you want to look for a change.”

“I don’t want to work at a place that says I can’t think,” said Mr. Gonzalez, who grew up in El Paso, just across the border from Ciudad Juárez, which has experienced some of the worst bloodshed in Mexico.

Mr. Franklin, the LEAP official, said it was natural that those on the front lines of enforcing drug laws would have strong views on them, either way. It was the death of a colleague at the hands of a drug dealer in 2000 that prompted Mr. Franklin, a veteran officer, to begin questioning the nation’s drug policies. 

The full story is online here.

White House Dismisses Popular Marijuana Petitions

 Polls Show Marijuana Legalization More Popular Than President Obama

WASHINGTON, DC -- Late Friday night the White House issued a typical evasive rejection of the several marijuana legalization petitions that collected more signatures than any other issue on its "We the People" website. Even though recent polls show that more voters support marijuana legalization than approve of President Obama's job performance, the White House categorically dismissed the notion of reforming any laws, focusing its response on the possible harms of marijuana use instead of addressing the many harms of prohibition detailed in the petitions.

One of the popular petitions, submitted by retired Baltimore narcotics cop Neill Franklin, called on the Obama administration to simply stop interfering with states' efforts to set their own marijuana laws.

"It's maddening that the administration wants to continue failed prohibition polices that do nothing to reduce drug use and succeed only in funneling billions of dollars into the pockets of the cartels and gangs that control the illegal market," said Franklin, who serves as executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a group of cops, judges and prosecutors who support legalizing and regulating drugs. "If the president and his advisers think they're being politically savvy by shying away from much-needed change to our drug policies, they're wrong. The recent Gallup poll shows that more Americans support legalizing marijuana than support continuing prohibition, so the administration is clearly out of step with the people it claims to represent. President Obama needs to remember his campaign pledge not to waste scarce resources interfering with state marijuana laws and his earlier statement about the 'utter failure' of the drug war."

Five of the top 10 petitions on the "We the People" site are about some aspect of marijuana or drug policy reform. The eight marijuana petitions that the White House's Friday rejection was intended to address have collectively garnered more than 150,00 signatures.

This isn't the first time that marijuana policy reform has proven popular in online forums hosted by the White House. A question from LEAP member and former sheriff's deputy MacKenzie Allen got the most votes in a White House YouTube forum this January. Marijuana questions also dominated the White House's "Open for Questions" online town hall in March 2009 and the Obama transition team's Change.gov website in late 2008. Each time, the administration has issued terse rejections that contradict Obama's 2004 statement that "we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws."

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, FBI/DEA 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: October 29, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc

New Ken Burns PBS Documentary Brings "Prohibition" Lesson to Modern America

  More Politicians Joining the Call to End "War on Drugs"

  Cops Who Fought "Drug War" Say It's Time for Legalization

  WASHINGTON, DC -- As more politicians and world leaders declare willingness to consider ending the "war on drugs," a group of law enforcers who fought that war says a new Ken Burns PBS documentary about alcohol prohibition premiering Sunday provides an important lesson for today's prohibition on marijuana and other illegal drugs.

"Does anyone think making the dangerous drug alcohol illegal actually decreased the harm associated with its use, abuse and distribution?" asked Neill Franklin, a retired Baltimore narcotics cop who now heads up Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). "Just as then, today's prohibition on drugs doesn't accomplish much to reduce harmful use and only serves to create gruesome violence in the market where none would exist under noncriminal regulation. Legalizing these drugs will make our streets safer by reducing the crime and violence associated with their trade, just as when we re-legalized alcohol."

Many current and former elected officials are calling for a re-evaluation of the "war on drugs" and a growing number are even suggesting that marijuana and other drugs should be legalized. For example, last month, Mexican President Felipe Calderon made headlines by saying - in light of an uptick in cartel attacks - that the U.S. should look at "market alternatives" for drug supply if demand can't be reduced.

Advocates are pointing out the parallels between the repeal of alcohol prohibition and today's debate about ending the "war on drugs." For example, one factor that led to the demise of alcohol prohibition was its enormous pricetag for taxpayers during the Great Depression. Today's rough economic climate is leading more politicians to criticize the growing cost of the "war on drugs."

LEAP's Franklin said, "The one major difference between the two prohibitions is that our wise grandparents came to grips with the failure of their experiment to ban alcohol after just 13 years, while the 'drug war' that President Nixon declared 40 years ago is still being prosecuted, more harshly and expensively than ever. It's about time more of our political leaders start to think about an exit strategy."

Other influential leaders and groups recently issuing calls to move away from prohibitionist drug policies include the NAACP, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, the Washington State Democratic Central Committee and the UK's Liberal Democrat Party.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, FBI/DEA 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: September 29, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc

ONE DRUG ARREST EVERY 19 SECONDS IN THE U.S.

New FBI Numbers Reveal Failure of "War on Drugs"

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A new FBI report released today shows that there is a drug arrest every 19 seconds in the U.S. A group of police and judges who have been campaigning to legalize and regulate drugs pointed to the figures showing more than 1.6 million drug arrests in 2010 as evidence that the "war on drugs" is a failure that can never be won.

"Since the declaration of the 'war on drugs' 40 years ago we've arrested tens of millions of people in an effort to reduce drug use. The fact that cops had to spend time arresting another 1.6 million of our fellow citizens last year shows that it simply hasn't worked. In the current economy we simply cannot afford to keep arresting three people every minute in the failed 'war on drugs,'" said Neill Franklin, a retired Baltimore narcotics cop who now heads the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). "If we legalized and taxed drugs, we could not only create new revenue in addition to the money we'd save from ending the cruel policy of arresting users, but we'd make society safer by bankrupting the cartels and gangs who control the currently illegal marketplace."

Today's FBI report, which can be found at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010, shows that 81.9 percent of all drug arrests in 2010 were for possession only, and 45.8 percent of all drug arrests were for possession of marijuana.

A separate Department of Justice report released last month shows that Mexican drug cartels are currently operating in more than 1,000 U.S. cities, whereas two years ago they were in 230 U.S. cities. Meanwhile, a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report released earlier this month shows that nearly one in 10 Americans admit to regularly using illegal drugs.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, FBI/DEA 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: September 19, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc

Black Government Employees Call for End to Racially Biased “War on Drugs”

Group Joins Police Officers in Calling for Move Toward Legalization

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Blacks in Government (BIG), a group representing the interests of African-American government employees at the federal, state, county and municipal levels, overwhelmingly passed a resolution at its national delegates meeting last week calling for an end to the failed and racially biased “war on drugs.” The resolution, which will be delivered to President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, calls for “alternatives to incarceration that may, in part, include a model to regulate and control the distribution of some drugs.”

The resolution pointed to the words of Maryland State Police Major Neill Franklin and U.S. Marshal Matthew Fogg, both members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a group of police, judges, prosecutors and prison wardens who support legalizing and regulating drugs. BIG and LEAP have noted that African Americans constitute 53.5 percent of all persons who entered prison because of a drug conviction despite the fact that blacks are no more likely than whites to use drugs.

“I personally witnessed racially biased enforcement procedures when I ran a joint DEA task force,” said Fogg, a former U.S. marshal and a past BIG national first vice president. “When I requested equal enforcement of upscale suburban areas, I met internal resistance.”

The BIG resolution calls for “a federal investigation for solutions to eliminate the pretense and continued arrest and incarceration of African Americans at extraordinarily disparate rates for drug related charges.”

In passing the anti-drug-war resolution, BIG joins other African-American groups that have taken similar positions, such as the NAACP, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and the National Black Police Association.

“The war on drugs has put blacks behind bars for drug offenses at more than ten times the rate of whites, even though the evidence consistently shows that blacks are no more likely to use or sell currently illicit drugs than whites are,” Fogg added. “It is time to end this virtual race war.”

The full text of the BIG resolution can be seen at http://www.bignet.org/regional/delegates/Resolution2_2011R.pdf

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, FBI/DEA agents, U.S. marshals 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. Info at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 30, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell – (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc

NAACP says end the "war on drugs"

The NAACP has just joined the list of prominent organizations and individuals calling for a major paradigm shift away from the failed and punitive "war on drugs" and toward a health-based approach with a resolution passed today at the organization's national conference in Los Angeles.

Neill Franklin, an African American former narcotics cop from Baltimore and executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, presented on the need to end the "war on drugs" at the NAACP conference yesterday, and had this to say about the passage of the resolution:

"The NAACP has been on the forefront of the struggle for civil rights and social justice in this country for over a century. The fact that these leaders are joining others like the National Black Police Association in calling for an end to the 'war on drugs' should be a wake up call to those politicians - including and especially President Obama - who still have not come to terms with the devastation that the 'drug war' causes in our society and especially in communities of color."

Here's video of Neill presenting at an NAACP criminal justice summit in March:


NAACP's official press release follows.

NAACP PASSES HISTORIC RESOLUTION CALLING FOR END TO WAR ON DRUGS

President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous: Major step towards equity, justice, effective law enforcement

Contact: Ben Wrobel

(917) 846-0658
bwrobel@naacpnet.org

(Los Angeles, CA) – Today the NAACP passed a historic resolution calling for an end to the war on drugs.  The resolution was voted on by a majority of delegates at the 102nd NAACP Annual Convention in Los Angeles, CA.  The overall message of the resolution is captured by its title: A Call to End the War on Drugs, Allocate Funding to Investigate Substance Abuse Treatment, Education, and Opportunities in Communities of Color for A Better Tomorrow. 



“Today the NAACP has taken a major step towards equity, justice and effective law enforcement,” stated Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP.  “These flawed drug policies that have been mostly enforced in African American communities must be stopped and replaced with evidenced-based practices that address the root causes of drug use and abuse in America.” 

The resolution outlines the facts about the failed drug war, highlighting that the U.S. spends over $40 billion annually on the war on drugs, locking up low-level drug offenders – mostly from communities of color.  African Americans are in fact 13 times more likely to go to jail for the same drug-related offense than their white counterparts.


“Studies show that all racial groups abuse drugs at similar rates, but the numbers also show that African Americans, Hispanics and other people of color are stopped, searched, arrested, charged, convicted, and sent to prison for drug-related charges at a much higher rate,” stated Alice Huffman, President of the California State Conference of the NAACP.  “This dual system of drug law enforcement that serves to keep African-Americans and other minorities under lock and key and in prison must be exposed and eradiated.

”Instead of sending drug offenders to prison, the resolution calls for the creation and expansion of rehabilitation and treatment programs, methadone clinics, and other treatment protocols that have been proven effective.



“We know that the war on drugs has been a complete failure because in the forty years that we’ve been waging this war, drug use and abuse has not gone down,” stated Robert Rooks, Director of the NAACP Criminal Justice Program. “The only thing we’ve accomplished is becoming the world’s largest incarcerator, sending people with mental health and addiction issues to prison, and creating a system of racial disparities that rivals Jim Crow policies of the 1960’s.”


Once ratified by the board of directors in October, the resolution will encourage the more than 1200 active NAACP units across the country to organize campaigns to advocate for the end of the war on drugs. 



Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private

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First-Ever Marijuana Legalization Bill Introduced in U.S. Congress

Cops Say the War on Marijuana Has Failed, Let States End Prohibition

WASHINGTON, DC -- The first-ever Congressional bill to let states legalize marijuana will be introduced in the U.S. House by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers on Thursday, and a group of police and judges who fought on the front lines of the failed "war on drugs" is announcing its support.

Neill Franklin, a former Baltimore narcotics cop and executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, said, "Clearly the 'war on drugs' has failed, and nowhere is that more clear than with respect to marijuana. It baffles me that we arrest nearly 800,000 people on marijuana charges in this country each and every year at taxpayer expense when we could instead be taking in new tax revenue from legal and regulated marijuana sales. Making marijuana illegal hasn't prevented anyone from using it, but it has created a huge funding source that funnels billions of dollars in tax-free profits to violent drug cartels and gangs. More and more cops now agree: Legalizing marijuana will improve public safety."

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), would essentially end the federal government's bullying of states when it comes to marijuana policy reform. Initial co-sponsors include Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO).

The bill's introduction comes in the wake of last week's 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon declaring the "war on drugs," which the group of pro-legalization police officers commemorated by releasing a new report that they attempted to hand-deliver to Obama administration drug czar Gil Kerlikowske: http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com/40years.

There are expected to be marijuana legalization initiatives on next year's ballots in at least three states: California, Colorado and Washington.

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. More info at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com.

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

On 40th Anniversary of "War on Drugs," Cops Release Report Showing its Failure

Obama's Drug Czar Says He Ended "War on Drugs" Two Years Ago

Cops Hand-Deliver Report to Drug Czar's Office While Czar Refuses to Meet

WASHINGTON, DC -- In conjunction with this week's 40th anniversary of President Nixon declaring "war on drugs," a group of police, judges and jailers who support legalization released a report today showing how the Obama administration is ramping up a war it disingenuously claims that it ended two years ago.

Following the report's release at a press conference this morning, the pro-legalization law enforcers attempted to hand-deliver a copy to Obama administration drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, who is a former Seattle chief of police.  Instead of making time to listen to the concerns of fellow law enforcers who have dedicated their careers to protecting public safety, he simply sent a staffer to the lobby to receive a copy of the cops' report.

Norm Stamper, also a former chief of police in Seattle and a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, said, "It wasn't hard to put together a report showing how the Obama administration continues to wage the failed 'war on drugs' even while pretending to end it. Although President Obama has talked about respecting states' rights to enact medical marijuana laws, his DEA has raided state-legal medical marijuana providers at a higher rate than under the Bush administration. Similarly, this president has continued a Bush-era budget ratio that heavily favors spending on punishment over providing resources for treatment, even though he has said drug addiction should be handled as a health issue."

The full text of the pro-legalization cops' report is available online at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com/40years

In the past four days alone, 2,500 people have used LEAP's website to send letters to President Obama asking him to transform his administration's good rhetoric on ending the "war on drugs" into policy reality. That action alert is also online at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com/40years

Neill Franklin, a former Baltimore narcotics cop and LEAP's executive director, said, "Over the past few weeks, us cops who have been on the front lines of the 'war on drugs' have made numerous attempts to schedule a meeting with the drug czar to share our concerns about the harms these drug laws are causing. The fact that he refused to sit down with us and discuss these issues - even when we went directly to his doorstep - speaks volumes about how much the Obama administration would rather ignore the failed 'war on drugs' than do anything to actually address it."

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: June 14, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc
                  Shaleen Title - (617) 955-9638 or speakers@leap.cc

Cops Mark 40th Anniversary of "War on Drugs" With Grim Picture of Damage Done

New Report Details Drug War Carnage the Obama Administration Would Rather Ignore

Obama's Drug Czar Says He Ended "War on Drugs" Two Years Ago

WASHINGTON, DC -- Forty years ago President Nixon declared the "war on drugs." Marking next week's somber anniversary, a group of police officers, judges and corrections officials who support legalizing drugs will join forces to detail the ongoing failures of a war the Obama administration disingenuously claims it ended two years ago. Following a press conference, the law enforcers will attempt to hand-deliver a copy of their new report to President Obama's drug czar. They will also hold a teleconference for journalists not able to attend the event in Washington.

Norm Stamper, former chief of police in Seattle and a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, said, "Since President Nixon declared 'war on drugs' four decades ago, this failed policy has led to millions of arrests, a trillion dollars spent and countless lives lost. Yet drugs today are more available than ever. President Obama's drug officials keep saying they've ended the 'drug war.' But our report shows that's just not true, and we'll be hand-delivering a copy to the drug czar in hopes he'll be convinced to actually end this war, or at least stop saying he already has."

Obama administration drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, like Stamper, is a former Seattle chief of police.

WHO: Police officers, corrections officials and border patrol agents who support legalizing drugs

WHAT: Press conference to release new research detailing ongoing "drug war" the Obama administration says it ended two years ago, followed by attempted hand-delivery of the report to drug czar Gil Kerlikowske

WHEN: Tuesday, June 14. In-person press conference: 10:00 AM EDT; Teleconference: 1:00 PM EDT

WHERE: National Press Club's Zenger Room (13th Floor); 529 14th St. NW; Washington, DC 20045

CALL-IN INFO FOR 1 PM EDT TELECONFERENCE: (800) 311-9404; Password - "40th Anniversary"

Neill Franklin, a former Baltimore narcotics cop and LEAP's executive director, said, "When President Nixon declared the 'drug war' in 1971, we arrested fewer than half a million people for drug offenses that year. Today, the number has skyrocketed to almost two million drug arrests a year. We jail more of our own citizens than any other country in the world does, including those run by the worst dictators and totalitarian regimes. Is this how President Obama thinks we can 'win the future'?"

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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NEWS ADVISORY: June 7, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc
                   Shaleen Title  - (617) 955-9638 or speakers@leap.cc

World Leaders Encourage Drug Legalization

On Thursday the former presidents of several countries, former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, former U.S. secretary of state George Shultz, former U.S. Fed chairman Paul Volcker and other luminaries will release a report calling the global "war on drugs" a failure and encouraging nations to pursue legalizing and regulating drugs as a way to put a stop the the violence inherent in the illegal drug market.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of police, prosecutors and judges who have waged the "drug war" on its front lines, is cheering the report and its conclusions.

"It's no longer a question of whether legalizing drugs is a serious topic of debate for serious people," said Neill Franklin, LEAP's executive director and a 34-year veteran police officer from Baltimore, Maryland. "These former presidents and other international leaders have placed drug legalization squarely on the table as an important solution that policymakers need to consider. As a narcotics cop on the streets, I saw how the prohibition approach not only doesn't reduce drug abuse but how it causes violence and crime that affect all citizens and taxpayers, whether they use drugs or not."

Some of the world leaders who signed on to the report will speak at a press conference and teleconference on Thursday:

When: Thursday, June 2 at 11 am, EST
Where: The Waldorf Astoria Hotel, 301 Park Avenue, New York (Beekman Suite)

By Phone:
USA -- 1-800-311-9404 (Password: Global Commission)
From Outside the USA -- 1-334-323-7224 (Password: Global Commission)

The full report will be available at http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/

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NEWS ADVISORY: June 1, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media//at//leap/dot//cc

Video: Eric Holder Says LEAP is Wrong About Saving Lives

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was recently asked about his thoughts on LEAP's efforts to save police officers' lives by legalizing drugs.  Unfortunately, Mr. Holder seems to think, despite the evidence, that cops aren't unnecessarily losing their lives in the "war on drugs."

Check out this video to see the A.G.'s comments as well as LEAP's reaction:

Cops Attend Candlelight Vigil and Say "Legalize Drugs" to Honor Fallen Colleagues (Press Release)

Peace Officers Memorial Day Expected to Draw Tens of Thousands to Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, DC -- In conjunction with Peace Officers Memorial Day, some police are pointing out how too many law enforcers are killed in the line of duty enforcing a senseless and unwinnable "war on drugs."  The group, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), is calling for the legalization and regulation off all drugs, and they're telling stories about their fallen friends and colleagues to back up their case.

"When one of my best friends was killed doing an undercover drug purchase, it opened my eyes to the fact that not only are these drug laws ineffective, but they lead to brave and dedicated law enforcers losing their lives," said Neill Franklin, a 34-year veteran of the Maryland State Police and the Baltimore Police Department, now LEAP's executive director. "Ed Toatley was one of the best narcotics agents the state of Maryland ever had, but this failed drug war wasn't worth him losing his life over."

See http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.com/2011/05/remembering-our-fallen-comrades.html for more information about Ed Toatley's story.

WHO: Former police officers who support legalizing drugs

WHAT: Candlelight vigil in remembrance of fallen colleagues

WHEN: Friday, May 13 @ 7:30 PM EST

WHERE: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial; on E St. between 4th and 5th Sts., NW, Washington, DC

The candlelight vigil, which officially begins at 8:00 PM, is sponsored by the National Law Enforcers Memorial Fund and is part of National Police Week. 25,000 to 40,000 police officers and family members are expected to attend official events over the course of the week. The group of pro-legalization police officers will be available for on-site press interviews around 7:30 PM, before the start of the vigil.

More information about Police Week can be found at http://www.policeweek.org/schedule.html.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, prison warders, 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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NEWS ADVISORY: May 10, 2011
CONTACT: Tom Angell - 202-557-4979 or media//at//leap//dot//cc

Remembering Our Fallen Comrades

Ed Toatley, left, with Neill Franklin

Late in the evening on October 30, 2000, Major Neill Franklin was awaken by the ringing of his telephone. At the time, Neill was the commander of training for the Baltimore Police Department, and late night calls were no unusual occurrence. In answering the phone, he expected to hear news of a recruit experiencing difficulty, but instead the voice awaiting him on the other end of the line said something quite different: “Neill, Ed has been shot and taken to Prince George's County General Hospital, and it doesn’t look good.”

Corporal Edward Toatley was a 15-year veteran and undercover narcotics agent for the Maryland State Police. He was assigned to an FBI drug task force and, on that night, was making his final purchase of cocaine in Washington, DC, from a mid-level drug dealer when the dealer, Kofi Orleans-Lindsay, decided he wanted both the drugs and the money for himself. Orleans-Lindsay returned to the car Ed was driving, paused for a moment as he extinguished his cigarette, then shot Ed at point blank range in the side of the head.

Although it took only minutes, the high-speed 53-mile race to the hospital for Neill and his wife felt like the longest ride of Neill’s life. Arriving at the hospital among the scores of family and friends, Neill was guided to the room where Ed laid with his head bandaged and bloody. Ed was no longer with us, but his body was still warm. Neill thought of how just a few weeks earlier Ed was telling him of the plans to make this final purchase of cocaine, meaning one more case in a long line of many would be closed. Ed used to work such cases under Neill's command and they had many such talks in the past, thinking very little of the inherent dangers.

Back at the hospital, next came the moment of facing Ed’s wife and children. Words were few, but hugs were many -- lasting for what seemed like hours and leaving feelings that still linger today.

When the people are gone and the quiet comes, so does the question: Why? Initially thinking of the covert operation, you rehash the event. How could this happen? What went wrong? What was the protocol, what were the signs that this was about to take a wrong turn, and who missed what? But then Neill realized that the questions he was asking dealt only with the symptoms of a much larger problem, the War on Drugs. 

Ed wasn’t the only cop Neill knew to pass this way. When Neill was working undercover in the 1980s it was Detective Marty Ward in Baltimore City, shot during a botched drug deal in a Baltimore apartment. Then it was Baltimore officer Billy Martin, killed while responding to a drug dealing related call. Soon after Ed’s death, more Baltimore officers would die. Officer Michael Cowdery was gunned down by a local Baltimore drug dealer as he and his partner approached for a field interview on a neighborhood street corner. Officer Kevon Gavin’s patrol vehicle was intentionally broadsided by a heavily armed drug dealer wearing a ballistic vest. The dealer had just shot someone and was being pursued by other officers.

Law enforcers place their lives on the line every day in a career that is already inherently dangerous. Neill has realized that our drug policies are not only ineffective, but also cause great harm to police to and civilians in our communities alike. Our aggressive policing strategies actually generate violence. Police sweeps create voids within the underground market that are eagerly filled by those waiting in the wings. Violent tactics of those competing for a piece of the vacant market share make communities and law enforcement jobs extremely dangerous, more dangerous than necessary.

Neill has decided that enough is enough, and he has vowed to work toward ending the prohibition of all drugs. Too many police officers and children are dying in our streets and the streets of other countries like Mexico.

That's why Neill has joined with a group of other police officers, prosecutors, judges and corrections officials - under the banner of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) - to send a strong message that criminal justice professionals are fed up with the way the "war on drugs" needlessly leads to the deaths of far too many law enforcers.