Failure of Drug War Prompts Police Officers to Advocate Legalization

Interview with Jack Cole, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, co-founder and executive director, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

This electoral season, the state of Connecticut can offer political junkies more than just the Joe Lieberman/Ned Lamont race for U.S. Senate. It is also a state where a governor's race includes a Green Party candidate who supports drug legalization. That candidate has opened the door to the efforts of an organization called - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP - to promote drug legalization as a national policy. LEAP activists are now crisscrossing the state hoping to increase the visibility of their cause.

LEAP was founded in 2002 by five ex-police officers with 90 years of experience on the front lines of the drug war. The organization believes that the War on Drugs is not one monolithic problem, but rather two distinct issues: one is the problem of substance abuse, the other is the crime and violence associated with the drug marketplace. The group advocates legalization to deal with the crime and violence -- that is, to bring marijuana, heroin and cocaine under legal control, like tobacco and alcohol are already.

LEAP members address mainstream civic groups such as Rotary, Lions Clubs, and Chambers of Commerce, where audience members are often not convinced that drug legalization is the way forward. The following is an excerpt from a conversation Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus conducted with LEAP co-founder and executive director, Jack Cole, a former Lt. In the New Jersey State Police Department.

Contact Law Enforcement Against Prohibition by calling (781) 393-6985 or visit their website at www.leap.cc

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