“Most police chiefs understand that when it comes to marijuana use, we cannot criminalize such a large population of society that engage in casual marijuana use,” Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland said last Friday in a radio interview. “We can’t, you just can’t continue to do that, we understand that. …And this is why the federal government really needs to take the lead. Now health-wise, I don’t know what the long-term effects is for marijuana use, just like long-term effects of using an aspirin. I just don’t know. But I do know that it makes it difficult for law enforcement to enforce the law when you have a state law that may allow it, federal government does not. And, and on the other hand, too, sometimes young people make a mistake, and they’ve got to be given a second chance. And, so, I think this is something that, the country has moved, and sometimes you know, government has to move too. You know, in answer to the will of the people.”
In a 30-minute in-depth interview McClelland acknowledged that the war on drugs has disproportionately hurt “young minority men,” and that law enforcement attitudes on marijuana use are beginning to shift. More at the Houston Press.