Marijuana: Some Cops Actually Happy About States' Weed Legalization
Federal authorities might not be so giddy about the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington, but some city cops are.
Charles LeBlanc / Flickr
Well, some.
The group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, long opposed to state and federal laws that make jail-bait of tokers in California and elsewhere, is absolutely psyched about the Tuesday election's developments:
In a statement the group called it " a historic night for drug law reformers" and noted that "Massachusetts became the 18th state to allow medical marijuana."
Group member Norm Stamper, the former chief of police in Seattle:
@That_Dude69
I cannot tell you how happy I am that after forty years of the racist, destructive exercise in futility that is the war on drugs, my home state of Washington has now put us on a different path. There are people who have lost today: drug cartels, street gangs, those who profit from keeping American incarceration rates the highest in the world. For the rest of us, however, this is a win. It's a win for taxpayers. It's a win for police. It's a win for all those who care about social justice. This is indeed a wonderful day.
The pro-pot cops say their next move is to ensure the laws are implemented.
That could be a touch row to hoe. The U.S. Department of Justice says it is unmoved in its stance the marijuana is 100 percent illegal across the land no matter what state voters say.
DOJ spokeswoman Nanda Chitre told Politico:
The Department's enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged. In enacting the Controlled Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance.
Neill Franklin, executive director of LEAP, says he's anticipating the day that marijuana is decriminalized nationwide:
... When the rest of the country follows the lead pioneered by the voters of Colorado and Washington, we'll be closer to living in a country with a drug policy that is truly about public safety.
See also:
*What Killed Prop. 19?
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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