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U.S. Cops Call On Canadian Prime Minister To Legalize Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

Canada Risks Repeating ‘U.S. Mistakes’ With Mandatory Minimum Sentences In
Bill C-10

A high-profile group of current and former law enforcement officials from the United States is calling on the Canadian government to reconsider the mandatory minimum sentences for minor marijuana offenses proposed in Bill C-10, arguing that the taxation and regulation of cannabis is a more effective policy approach in reducing crime.

The law enforcers on Wednesday released a letter outlining their concerns, addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canadian senators. It is signed by more than two dozen current and former judges, police officers, special agents, narcotics investigators and other criminal justice professionals, all of whom are members of the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

Failed War On Drugs’ 40th Anniversary: Cops Call Out Drug Czar

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: Doug Beghtel/The Oregonian

Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske wouldn’t meet with a group of former law enforcement officers who were concerned about the bad effects of the War On Drugs. Instead, he sent a staffer to take their report.

Cops Hand-Deliver Report To Drug Czar’s Office While Czar Refuses To Meet

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 Tuesday 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 Tuesday morning, the pro-legalization law enforcement officers attempted to hand-deliver a copy to Obama Administration Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, the former Seattle chief of police who claimed he ended the War On Drugs two years ago.

Instead of making time to listen to the concerns of fellow law enforcers who have dedicated their careers to protecting public safety, the Drug Czar simply sent a staffer to the lobby to receive a copy of the cops’ report.

Seattle Protesters Tell Drug Czar: ‘Gil, Get With The Times’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 4, 2011 News

Photo: Chris Egert/KIRO

Marijuana advocates held a protest outside the Seattle Times on Friday as Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske met with the newspaper’s editors. The protesters, holding signs reading “Get With The Times” and “De-Fund The Drug Czar,” said they believe the Drug Czar was sent to change the editorial’s board’s minds.

Kerlikowske asked for the meeting with the editorial board soon after the newspaper called for the legalization of marijuana in a recent editorial, reports KIRO 7.

In an interview with KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Anchor Chris Egert on Friday morning, Kerlikowske denied the White House sent him to Seattle just to speak with the editorial board. He said he was in Seattle for a previously scheduled event.

Washington Law Officers Testify For Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 8, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: CBS News

Law enforcement officers who once waged the War On Drugs submitted testimony Tuesday supporting a bill to legalize and regulate marijuana in Washington state. 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 wrote.

Mexican President Calls For Debate On Legalizing Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 4, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Alejandro Bringas/Reuters

Mexican soldiers stand guard, pretending they don’t have a buzz as bales of marijuana go up in smoke

It seems that top Mexican officials, weary of their bloody and protracted drug war, have been been subtly pushing the U.S. for some time to seriously consider marijuana legalization. Now, with the sitting president calling for a debate, it’s not so subtle anymore.

Responding to out-of-control violence related to the illegal drug trade, Mexican President Calderon on Tuesday said he is open to a debate on the legalization of marijuana and other drugs.

Calderon called the increasingly widespread public discussion of legalization “a fundamental debate.”

Washington: Marijuana Legalization Gaining Momentum

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Emerald Herb

“It’s an idea whose time has come,” said Douglas Hiatt, co-author of Initiative 1068, which would legalize marijuana in Washington State.

And now it’s time for voters to take matters into their own hands, according to Hiatt. “This year, one in six legislators sponsored marijuana reform legislation,” the activist attorney said Tuesday at a press conference on the steps of the Capitol Building in Olympia.

“And again this year, major reform did not get out of committee,” Hiatt said. “So we formed Sensible Washington and wrote an initiative that removes the criminal and civil penalties for adults.”

Every poll taken shows that if I-1068 gets on the ballot, it will win. Washington voters support sensible marijuana laws.

Tuesday’s press conference detailed a wide and diverse array of endorsements, from former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper to Republican legislator Toby Nixon.

Former Seattle Police Chief Advocates Legalizing All Drugs

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 15, 2009 Culture, Legislation

Photo: normstamper.com

Norm Stamper of LEAP: “Legalizing pot but not other drugs will leave huge social harms unresolved”

With marijuana legalization apparently headed for the California ballot in 2010, Seattle’s former police chief is asking, “Why stop there?”, reports Matt Coker in the OC Weekly.

Police veteran Norm Stamper wore the blue for 34 years, and was the top cop in Seattle from 1994 until 2000. He’s also the author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop’s Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing and one of the most prominent members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

Norm breaks it down in an AlterNet post, “Let’s Not Stop At Legalizing Marijuana,” citing polls that show a majority of Americans realize legalizing pot will produce a host of benefits, including, of course, the fact that 800,000 people a year will no longer be arrested for the herb. Taxation and regulation further bolster the pro-legalization arguments.

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