Cops across America tell federal government to end marijuana prohibition
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) A cohort of law enforcement officials and long-time law enforcement veterans has had enough of the federal government's continued prohibition of marijuana, and is demanding that the rogue entity back off and respect the people's sovereign right to grow and use the natural plant as they see fit, particularly in the states of Colorado and Washington where oppressive prohibition laws were recently lifted through voter initiatives.
The group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), which describes itself as an organization composed of current and former law enforcement and criminal justice officials opposed to existing drug policies, has sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at the Department of Justice (DOJ) petitioning him to hold the Obama administration responsible for its earlier campaign promise to respect individual state laws pertaining to marijuana use.
As many NaturalNews readers are well aware, the taxpayer-funded War on Drugs that the nation has been forcibly embroiled in for the past 40 years has been a complete failure, and has only led to more crime and more drug cartels. Rather than continue to restrict access to a plant that is; for all intents and purposes, harmless, the federal government would do well from both an economic and social standpoint to simply stop interfering with individual states as it concerns marijuana use and cultivation.
"During his first term, President Obama really disappointed those of us who hoped he might follow through on his campaign pledges to respect state medical marijuana laws," said Neill Franklin, Executive Director of LEAP. "Still, I'm hopeful that in his second term he'll realize the political opportunity that exists to do the right thing. Polls show 80 percent support for medical marijuana, and in Colorado marijuana legalization got more votes than the president did in this most recent election."
War on Drugs equals waste, fraud and violence
Franklin, a 34-year veteran narcotics officer, along with dozens of police officers, prosecutors, judges, and federal agents, officially sent their signed petition letter to the DOJ on November 20, and are hoping that the administration will take it seriously. In the meantime, the group plans to continue raising awareness about how the War on Drugs needlessly wastes taxpayer money and perpetuates violence, not to mention incarcerates thousands of people every year into privately-owned prison systems for merely exercising their natural right to possess and use the substances of their choice without oppression.
"From a public safety perspective, it's crucial that the Obama administration let Colorado and Washington fully implement the marijuana regulation laws that voters approved on Election Day," added Tony Ryan, a 36-year veteran Denver police lieutenant, and one of the letter's signers.
"There's nothing the federal government can do to force these states to arrest people for marijuana possession, but if it tries and succeeds in stopping the states from regulating and taxing marijuana sales, cartels and gangs will continue to make money selling marijuana to people on the illegal market. Plus, the states won't be able to take in any new tax revenue to fund schools."
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) A cohort of law enforcement officials and long-time law enforcement veterans has had enough of the federal government's continued prohibition of marijuana, and is demanding that the rogue entity back off and respect the people's sovereign right to grow and use the natural plant as they see fit, particularly in the states of Colorado and Washington where oppressive prohibition laws were recently lifted through voter initiatives.
The group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), which describes itself as an organization composed of current and former law enforcement and criminal justice officials opposed to existing drug policies, has sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at the Department of Justice (DOJ) petitioning him to hold the Obama administration responsible for its earlier campaign promise to respect individual state laws pertaining to marijuana use.
As many NaturalNews readers are well aware, the taxpayer-funded War on Drugs that the nation has been forcibly embroiled in for the past 40 years has been a complete failure, and has only led to more crime and more drug cartels. Rather than continue to restrict access to a plant that is; for all intents and purposes, harmless, the federal government would do well from both an economic and social standpoint to simply stop interfering with individual states as it concerns marijuana use and cultivation.
"During his first term, President Obama really disappointed those of us who hoped he might follow through on his campaign pledges to respect state medical marijuana laws," said Neill Franklin, Executive Director of LEAP. "Still, I'm hopeful that in his second term he'll realize the political opportunity that exists to do the right thing. Polls show 80 percent support for medical marijuana, and in Colorado marijuana legalization got more votes than the president did in this most recent election."
War on Drugs equals waste, fraud and violence
Franklin, a 34-year veteran narcotics officer, along with dozens of police officers, prosecutors, judges, and federal agents, officially sent their signed petition letter to the DOJ on November 20, and are hoping that the administration will take it seriously. In the meantime, the group plans to continue raising awareness about how the War on Drugs needlessly wastes taxpayer money and perpetuates violence, not to mention incarcerates thousands of people every year into privately-owned prison systems for merely exercising their natural right to possess and use the substances of their choice without oppression.
"From a public safety perspective, it's crucial that the Obama administration let Colorado and Washington fully implement the marijuana regulation laws that voters approved on Election Day," added Tony Ryan, a 36-year veteran Denver police lieutenant, and one of the letter's signers.
"There's nothing the federal government can do to force these states to arrest people for marijuana possession, but if it tries and succeeds in stopping the states from regulating and taxing marijuana sales, cartels and gangs will continue to make money selling marijuana to people on the illegal market. Plus, the states won't be able to take in any new tax revenue to fund schools."
