Even Rotary Clubs Are Talking About War On Cannabis

[greenbuddha]

US VT: Ex Police Officer Tells Rotary It's Time to Reform the

 

• Get Active
• Subscribe
• Support Us

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n274/a01.html

Newshawk: Kirk

Votes: 0

Pubdate: Thu, 13 Jun 2013

Source: Northfield News, The (VT)

Contact: thenorthfieldnews@gmail.com

Copyright: 2013 Northfield News Publishing, LLC

Website: http://www.thenorthfieldnews.com

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5442

Author: Louisa Tripp

 

EX POLICE OFFICER TELLS ROTARY IT'S TIME TO REFORM THE LAW & STOP THE WAR ON DRUGS

 

It's time to end the war on drugs, said one of the founders of LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, who spoke to the Northfield Rotary Club last week.  Capt.  Peter Christ ( pronounced "Chris" ), Vice Chair from the New York chapter of the group, told local Rotary members and guests present that society could save lives, reduce disease, crime and addiction as well as conserve the tax dollars the government is spending on the War on Drugs, if the drug laws were reformed.

 

Mr.  Christ is a retired police chief with a 20 year record in law enforcement.  He spoke about how declaring drug addiction intervention as a "war" means that there is a possible win/end and a clear outcome.  Addictive human behavior, though, contradicts the thought that we could ever eradicate drug addiction.

 

Comparing our war on drugs to the liquor prohibition during the 1920's, Mr.  Christ pointed out that it was not the selling of liquor that created gangsters such as Al Capone; it was making the sale of liquor illegal that created the underground market and made the gansters the enforcers of the market.

 

When alcohol was legalized, the enforcement of the market moved back into government control and reduced the associated violence.

 

In the same way, it is the drug cartels that are enforcing the underground drug market today with all the violence and lack of standards we have today.

 

Mr.  Christ is not advocating making all drugs legal; only moving away from the total prohibition we have today and have more measured laws and sentences.  With mandatory sentences for even non-violent drug offences, states around the country have been forced to release rapists and those convicted of other violent crimes to ease overcrowding in prisons and not allowed to release those convicted of non-violent drug offences.

 

Mr.  Christ also points out that the privatization of some our prisons has led to a clear conflict of interest.

 

He noted that when California was working on their drug laws, one of the largest lobbies against easing of sentences was the private correction facilities.  Mr.  Christ advocates not allowing privatization of what is essentially a government function and critical to our legal system.

 

From LEAP's webpage ( http://www.leap.cc/ ) "Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is an international 501© 3 nonprofit organization of criminal justice professionals who bear personal witness to the wasteful futility and harms of our current drug policies.

 

Our experience on the front lines of the "war on drugs" has led us to call for a repeal of prohibition and its replacement with a tight system of legalized regulation, which will effectively cripple the violent cartels and street dealers who control the current illegal market," the page relates. 

MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom

[Chauncy Gardner]

Who in the hell ever thought that privatizing prisons was a good idea?

 

Republicans. The same people who like using mercenaries to fight our wars.

 

John Engler was an enthusiastic supporter of privatizing government functions. He privatized the Liquor Control Commision in Michigan and sold it off to some big wig in Grand Rapids for pennies on the dollar. Michigan lost billions in revenue due to Engler giving a  sweetheart deal to one of his cronies. Engler went on to become a high paid lobbyist.

[solabeirtan]

Similar to what they're talking about for the D., Privatizing the Sewer and Water Dept. As part of their ongoing dismemberment of the victim.

 

"Comparing our war on drugs to the liquor prohibition during the 1920's, Mr.  Christ pointed out that it was not the selling of liquor that created gangsters such as Al Capone; it was making the sale of liquor illegal that created the underground market and made the gansters the enforcers of the market.
"

 

Perhaps we could consider Prohibition a sort of Poll Tax. That's what the Prohibition Movement was really about. It was about shutting down the Democratic Worker/Drinker Political Organizations.

 

By any means possible. Including Law Enforcement methods, enter John Edgar Hoover and the Untouchables, otherwise known as the FBI, forerunners of the ASA, CIA, DEA, ....

 

of which sprang Underground Markets and Gangster Enforcers with State of the Art, Military Issue Weaponry. Methods and means... 

Edited June 17, 2013 by solabeirtan