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Nine States and Localities Vote for More Sensible Drug Laws

Sam Sabzehzar 2012-11-09 0 comments

https://youtu.be/ItMcwldPOFA

By Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Executive Director Neill Franklin of LEAP on CNN discussing this year’s legalization efforts across the country.In a historic night for drug law reformers on Tuesday, Colorado and Washington passed measures legalizing and regulating marijuana, Massachusetts became the 18th state to allow medical marijuana, and six localities voted to modernize policies on marijuana.

“Because of the victories in all of these places, we awakened this morning in a slightly better country. It’s a little safer, a little bit more just,” said Neill Franklin, Executive Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and 34-year veteran of the Baltimore and Maryland State police departments.

Major Franklin continues, “And 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.”

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of cops, judges, prosecutors and other law enforcement officials advocating for the legalization of drugs, has speakers on hand to comment.

Norm Stamper, former Seattle police chief, had this to say: “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,” says Stamper.

Reformers are now focused on successfully implementing the new marijuana legalization laws in Colorado and Washington, and on determining which states are most likely to enact legalization in the near future.

Following is a list of all marijuana reform measures on the ballot across the country and a list of LEAP speakers available to discuss these historic reforms:

Colorado: Marijuana legalization – Passed!
Washington: Marijuana legalization – Passed!
Oregon: Marijuana legalization – Failed.
Massachusetts:  Medical marijuana – Passed!
Arkansas: Medical marijuana – Failed.
Detroit, MI: Decriminalization of adult marijuana possession – Passed!
Flint, MI: Decriminalization of adult marijuana possession – Passed!
Ypsilanti, MI: Marijuana to be lowest law enforcement priority – Passed!
Grand Rapids, MI: Decriminalization of adult marijuana possession – Passed!
Kalamazoo, MI: Three medical marijuana dispensaries permitted in city – Passed! 
Burlington, VT: Recommendation that marijuana should be legalized – Passed! 
Montana: Referendum restricting medical marijuana likely to pass.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Speakers Available for Comment

Sampling of LEAP speakers available for comment:

Washington

* Norm Stamper, former Seattle police chief
* Matt McCally, former corrections official

Colorado

* Tony Ryan, retired 36-year veteran of the Denver police force
* Jason Thomas, former Colorado detention officer and marshal’s deputy
* Sean McAllister, former assistant attorney general for the state of Colorado

Massachusetts

* Karen Hawkes, retired Massachusetts state trooper and medical marijuana patient
* Jack Cole, LEAP co-founder and former undercover narcotics agent

Other Speakers

* Neill Franklin, LEAP executive director and 34-year Baltimore narcotics cop
* Stephen Downing, Former LAPD Deputy Chief of Police