Marijuana Legalization Films and the Cops Who Love Them (And the Donors Who Love Those Cops)

Last night’s Long Beach screening of the new documentary Legalize It was a smashing success, drawing crowds from many quarters to hear the tale of a pioneering social movement and the future of drug law reform. The screening was hosted by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a group of law enforcement officials opposed to the war on drugs. A number of LEAP speakers appear in the documentary, which followed the narrowly defeated 2010 campaign to legalize marijuana in California, and were on hand afterward to discuss the issues raised in the film. 

“It boggles my mind that marijuana is still illegal,” said former police officer Kyle Kazan, “Few policy changes would do more to end budget deficits, increase public safety, restore community trust in the police and improve racial relations in this country than ending the prohibition of marijuana. The Prop. 19 campaign may not have succeeded in changing the law, but it did change a lot of minds. It set the stage for reform in places like Washington, Oregon and Colorado, where voters are now poised to make history by ending these ridiculous laws once and for all.”

A panel discussion featuring law enforcement, clergy and others followed the film. There was also an awards ceremony honoring the pioneering medical cannabis educators at Oaksterdam University. Many in the room remarked on the parallels with initiative campaigns to legalize marijuana currently on the ballot in three states and several localities.

LEAP speaker and retired Redondo Beach Lieutenant Commander Diane Goldstein commented, “The fact that we sold out this theater is indicative of a growing belief in the failure of current marijuana policy. Public support has never been higher. Cities and states all across the nation are instituting reforms and at this point, change is inevitable. When that change comes, we will all be indebted to those on the Prop. 19 campaign who first forged the path toward ending prohibition.”

Willie Nelson Marijuana Legalization Documentary Presented by Pro-Legalization Cops

  

Special Screening with Chance to Meet Film’s Stars at Pre-Film Wine & Appetizer Reception

Panel Discussion, Award Presentation to Follow

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Law Enforcement Against Prohibition presents a special preview screening of Willie Nelson’s Luck Films’ new documentary Legalize It on the Prop. 19 campaign to legalize marijuana in California in 2010. A discussion of the film, the campaign and similar measures currently on the ballot in Washington, Oregon and Colorado will follow the screening. Guests purchasing a Gold Status ticket will also have a chance to mingle with many of those portrayed in the film at a private reception beforehand.

What: Legalize It, a documentary about the Prop. 19 campaign

When: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 7-10pm

Where: Art Theatre of Long Beach, 2025 E. 4th Street, Long Beach

How: Tickets available online and start at $10; Reception starts at $50. Please see the website www.leap.cc/california-benefit/ or contact Diane Goldstein (diane.goldstein@leap.cc or 714.232.3722) to learn more or for information on sponsorship packages.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is a nonprofit organization of cops, judges, prosecutors and other law enforcement officials dedicated to ending the prohibition of marijuana. Several LEAP speakers who appear in the film, including former LAPD Deputy Chief Stephen Downing and Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate and former judge Jim Gray, will be on hand for interviews. Jeff and Dale Sky Jones and Richard Lee of Oaksterdam University will be on hand to receive a special award, and Rick Schlosser of the California Council of Churches, Producer Ravit Markus and other drug reform activists will attend the private reception and appear on the panel following the film.

Legalize It, a labor of love from award-winning filmmaker Dan Katzir and producers Ravit Markus and Lati Grobman of Campbell Grobman Films, is a sensitive and humorous behind-the-scenes look at a colorful campaign, the unlikely people running it and the disparate groups who both opposed and endorsed it. In the end, the passion and courage of the campaign leaders transformed a local ballot measure into a mainstream political topic and changed minds the world over.

“In any battle, the people who go in first are going to take one hell of a beating. In the fight to legalize marijuana, the Prop. 19 campaign folks were those people. If and when ballot measures in other states succeed, it will be because these folks cleared the way.” – LEAP Executive Director Neill Franklin

See more about the film and its Long Beach screening at www.legalizeitmovie.com/ or www.leap.cc/california-benefit/.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents law enforcement officials who, after fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs," came to believe that prohibition only serves to worsen substance abuse and violence. More info at 

www.CopsSayLegalizeMarijuana.com.

Meetup.com

Recently I met with a local group in Victoria to talk about Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. It was more of an informal chat rather than a presentation, but what was interesting about this group was that the meeting was organized through meetup.com.

The web site - Meetup.com - was launched in 2001 after 9/11. As co-founder Scott Heiferman explained, "The primary inspiration was the book 'Bowling Alone', which is by Harvard Sociologist Robert Putnam about the decline of community in America and how people don’t know there neighbors anymore. The Internet does a number of wonderful things, but it treats geography as irrelevant. We still live in a world where the local level is extremely important.".

We hear so much these days about Twitter, Digg, Facebook and other social networking web sites. Meetup.com seems to have fallen by the wayside. But has it? Searching through the site, I was able to find meet ups dedicated to a wide range of topics throughout the United States and Canada. For example, "Aussie's abroad in Houston, Texas" has 63 members. The "Cleveland Art Group" has 141 members. Toronto's "23 - 35 Social Club" has over 1300 members!

What is interesting about meetup.com is that it is the only social networking web site dedicated to bringing people together in the real world. This makes it a great resource for speakers who are looking for places where they can give LEAP presentations. The Denver Global Political Current Events Group has 37 members. The Roseville Neighborhood Watch Group in Michigan has 49 members. Obviously not all of the members show up at each meeting, and different groups have different activity levels. I was surprised, however, to see how active many groups were. For example, the Young Professionals In International Affairs in Washington, DC has 1014 members and has held 133 meetings so far.

Another possible use for Meetup.com is to form our own local LEAP support groups. There seems to be a lot of potential here, but if you search meetup.com you will discover that none of the major drug policy reform organizations are really making use of this resource.

What are your experiences with meetup.com?

Job opportunity

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