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.

Cops and Judges Support Colorado's Marijuana Regulation Ballot Measure

 National Black and Latino Police Groups Announce Endorsements for Amendment 64

 Reporters Can Ask Cops Questions on 3:30 PM ET Teleconference Today

DENVER, CO -- A group of police officers, judges and prosecutors who support Amendment 64, the Colorado ballot measure to regulate marijuana like alcohol, held a press conference on Thursday to release a letter of endorsement signed by law enforcers from across the state and to announce the endorsement of the national police organizations Blacks in Law Enforcement of America and the National Latino Officers Association.

For journalists who couldn’t physically attend the press conference, the Yes on 64 campaign is holding a conference call on Thursday at 3:30 PM ET, featuring several anti-prohibition law enforcers. For dial-in info, please contact Tom Angell at 202-557-4979 or media@leap.cc.

"After spending many, many years trying in good faith to enforce these marijuana prohibition laws, I can report unequivocally that they just don't work," said Tony Ryan, a 36-year veteran Denver police lieutenant, now a board member for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). "But it's worse than that. Beyond just being ineffective, these laws waste important law enforcement resources that could instead be going to things that actually protect public safety, like solving and preventing murders, rapes and robberies."

The sign-on letter from the law enforcers can be read online at http://www.regulatemarijuana.org/law-enforcement

Ron Hampton, a former police officer who is executive director of Blacks in Law Enforcement of America, which has endorsed Amendment 64, added, "Keeping these outdated prohibition laws on the books accomplishes nothing to reduce marijuana use, but it does cause incredible damage to our communities of color. Even though African Americans use marijuana at a rate virtually identical to that of whites, people from our community are arrested, sentenced and jailed at a much higher rate. Passing Amendment 64, while it won't solve all our problems, is a great step toward ensuring equality for all under the law."

Anthony Miranda of the National Latino Officers Association added, “Right now, communities of color see the police as aggressors rather than as protectors. People are unwilling to come to us, to give us information, even to report crimes, because they see us as the enemy. When Amendment 64 passes, we’ll be one step closer to rebuilding that community trust that allows us to effectively perform our jobs."

In the sign-on letter released at the press conference, law enforcers outline their reasons for supporting Amendment 64, detailing how legalizing and regulating marijuana will:

* Put our police priorities where they belong, by ending the arrests of non-violent marijuana users and enabling police to focus instead on preventing violent crime

* Cut off funding to violent gangs and drug cartels, who generate the majority of their revenue from illegal marijuana sales

* Protect the lives of police officers now in the line of fire in the "drug war"

* Reduce marijuana access to children by instituting strict age-limits and public safety controls

* Restore mutual respect and good relations between law enforcement and communities bearing the brunt of the current marijuana laws

Mr. Ryan, the former Denver police officer, added, "This November, Coloradans have the opportunity to take millions of dollars away from the gangs and cartels that currently control the illegal marijuana trade and put that money into our tax coffers, where it will be used to improve schools, pay police officers and protect our environment."

These law enforcement leaders join other leaders who support Amendment 64, such as the Colorado/Montana/Wyoming NAACP Conference, the Colorado Democratic Party, the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, college professors, doctors, Latino community leaders, faith leaders, labor leaders, business leaders, elected officials and more. For a full list of endorsements, please visit: http://www.regulatemarijuana.org/endorsements

The Colorado Center on Law and Policy estimates that marijuana taxes could generate $60 million in tax revenue and savings each year. Under the initiative, the first $40 million raised each year will be earmarked for school improvement, while the rest will be available to fund law enforcement, healthcare and other critical needs. http://www.cclponline.org/publication_library/pub/single/1188/amendment-64-study

Similar to current alcohol laws, Amendment 64 will give state and local governments the ability to control and tax the sale of small amounts of marijuana to adults age 21 and older. The measure includes significant safeguards and controls: It maintains strict criminal penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana, allows employers to maintain their current employment policies and does not change existing medical marijuana laws.

Multiple polls reveal that Colorado voters support Amendment 64, including a Denver Post/Survey USA poll released this week showing the measure ahead 51-40. http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_21548398/colorado-marijuana-legalization-initiative-leads-new-poll

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, corrections officials and others 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 http://www.CopsSayLegalizeMarijuana.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 20, 2012
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc

Will Obama "Tackle" the Drug War in a Second Term?

Political reporter Marc Ambinder is out with an "exclusive" report that President Obama plans to "tackle" the failed drug war if he is granted a second term.

Exclusive: In His Second Term, Obama Will Pivot to the Drug War

Sounds exciting, but don't be fooled by the big headline because the piece itself contains zero details about what the administration allegedly has in mind. A skeptical observer could easily come away from reading this piece thinking that administration/campaign people who recognize the drug war's vast political unpopularity are being somewhat disingenuous with Ambinder.  

Obama -- as candidate and as president -- and his drug czar have already repeatedly talked about scaling back the war on drugs.  But it's been all talk.  Drug Czar Kerlikowske, in his very first interview with the Wall Street Journal after taking office, declared the end of the "war on drugs" terminology.  He has repeatedly said that this is a health and not just a crime issue.  But the problem is: the drug control budget still overwhelmingly devotes more resources to old, failed punishment strategies than to effective treatment and prevention strategies.  The rhetoric doesn't match the reality.

So while Ambinder's story says the administration will use the "bully pulpit" to talk about this issue in the second term, they have already done so in the first term.  Sure, maybe the president himself could do more to forcefully champion this debate, but absent any real policy action it's not going to make a difference in the real medical problem of substance abuse, and it's not going to impress anyone.

Absent any specifics whatsoever about what the president might do during a possible second term, Ambinder's piece today does a disservice to the emerging debate surrounding this issue by letting the administration continue to get away with claiming that they're going to revamp drug polices without actually taking much meaningful action toward that end.
 
Hopefully Ambinder is working on a follow up piece that will go into some real detail as to what, if any, policy changes the administration has in mind for a second term.
 
It's also more than a little disappointing to seem Ambinder going out of his way to poo-poo the importance of legalizing marijuana.  

And the next time a celebrity makes it seem like legalizing marijuana is the be all and end all of drug law reform, slap him in the face. (Metaphorically, unless you want to get your time on TMZ). Legalizing pot is the least of it.

Marijuana arrests account for for half of all drug arrests in the U.S. every year, and these unnecessary law enforcement encounters leave far too many people with criminal records that prevent them from getting jobs, going to school and making something of themselves.  And let's not forget that marijuana is a huge cash crop for gangs and cartels that cut people's heads off. Legalized regulation would deal a bigger financial blow to organized crime than any level of law enforcement dedication or skill in the revolving door "drug war" ever can. 

Perhaps Ambinder's worst mistake in the piece is a factual error:

Don't expect miracles. There is very little the president can do by himself.

Actually, the administration can take very significant unilateral action on this issue, including the rescheduling of marijuana and other drugs as per the Controlled Substances Act. This can be done administratively without congressional action.  

So while we're all of course hoping that the next president -- no matter who he is -- will take meaningful action to address failed and harmful drug policies, Ambinder's report adds nothing new to the emerging drug policy debate except, perhaps, the news that at least some White House or campaign officials are beginning to see the electoral value in their candidate being seen as a drug policy reformer.

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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%.