Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, known as LEAP for short, is an organization that was founded in 2002 and is changing the face of the pro-legalization movement. Up until this point the biggest supporters of legalization have been groups such as NORML. Despite their hard work and numerous successes, NORML is still seen as a bunch of spacey stoners. LEAP was modeled on the successful Vietnam Vets Against the War. While many in the anti-war movement of the 60’s were typecast as potheads, this wasn’t possible with the people who had fought in the war first hand. The drug warriors cannot make the accusation that these former drug enforcers simply want to get high.
LEAP specializes in providing speakers who have first-hand knowledge of the drug war. They work extensively with Students for a Sensible Drug Policy to provide speakers for colleges and high schools, but also speak at other conventions. Similar to Vietnam Vets, these speakers tell first hand stories of how they destroyed people’s lives, and their co-workers who senselessly lost their lives. Almost unanimously, they say they got involved in LEAP to atone for the harm and suffering they had caused.
LEAP’s stated goal is to reduce the harm caused by the drug war. To achieve this end these former drug warriors have decided the only effective way is complete and total legalization. While this is their ultimate goal they also support medical marijuana and decriminalization efforts. They insist that these are only incremental steps and continue pushing for complete legalization after each incremental passage.
Membership in LEAP is open to anyone, but only veterans of the drug war can serve on its board of directors. If you are currently working in drug enforcement and would like to join, LEAP promises to keep your identity a secret. LEAP has produced a short introduction video which everyone should watch. As the late; great Walter Cronkite said, “It is a must-see for any journalist or public official dealing with this issue.”

LEAP video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LayaGk0TMDc
Official Website- http://www.leap.cc/

The National Football League has just implemented the most rigorous drug testing standards of any pro sport. The new regulations will we effective next season. The NFL joins a growing list of professional sports leagues to require testing of athletes. The trend of increased drug testing began with Major League Baseball. MLB players testified before Congress saying they did not use steroids. In the face of major skepticism, Major League Baseball implemented steroid testing for its players in 2006. The NFL has designed their new drug testing program to be the most rigorous test of any major league sport.
Compared to other major leagues’ drug testing programs, the NFL’s is unique in several ways. First, the NFL is the only league that allows for blood tests. Blood testing is considered more accurate and difficult to fake. Blood samples are also the best way to test for the steroid HGH or Human Growth Hormone. Also, players can be tested as often as the NFL wants, and drug tests will be conducted on game days. There is also a clause that allows for six drug tests to be conducted during the off seasons. The NFL commissioner believes that this testing program will guarantee a clean and level playing field for all athletes.

Not everyone is happy, however. Ray Ratto at CBS Sports says that despite the ability to test for HGS, there are still major flaws in the NFL’s program. According to Ratto, the greatest flaw is that “the NFL controls the tests, the results, and the decision whether or not to do something about them.” He goes on to explain that unlike a normal job where you are a cog in a machine; in professional sports the employee is also the product. This gives the NFL no incentive to actually enforce their drug policy.
In the entire drug testing conversation no one is discussing the morality of drug testing. Is there not some visceral attraction to the idea of teams of doped up Supermen battling it out? Mr. Ratto is correct that the NFL’s drug control policy, no matter how strict, will not work. The problem is that there is still a demand to use these drugs. As long as the objective is winning and making money, which it always is, people will do anything to achieve that. If the NFL were to truly commit to wiping out HGH, there will be a new drug on the market in six months.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was elected for his centrist policies and business experience. His pursuit of the War on Drugs, however, has cost the tax payers of New York dearly. A report authored by Professor Harry Levine of Queens College was recently published by the Drug Policy Alliance. The report criticizes the manner in which Mayor Bloomberg has prosecuted the drug war. Professor Levine’s report claims that Bloomberg has inappropriately spent tax-payer money to carry out a personal social philosophy.
In his term in office Mayor Bloomberg has spent more money on arresting marijuana smokers then the previous Mayors Koch, Dinkins and Giuliani combined. Since 2002 the NYPD has arrested nearly 350,000 people for marijuana related offenses. At an average cost of one to two thousand dollars per arrest this means Mayor Bloomberg has spent roughly $350 to $700 million prosecuting the war on drugs. The worst part of Levine’s findings is the vast majority of arrests are for low level possession. New York State has decriminalized possession making it a citation. A loophole in the law, however, still makes possession in public a misdemeanor.

During his campaign Mayor Bloomberg promised to balance New York’s budget. He has followed through cutting spending on programs for things such as: seniors, the youth, housing, transportation, teachers and education. At the same time Bloomberg cut spending on these programs he spent hundreds of millions arresting small time drug users is absurd. In 2001 Bloomberg was asked about his smoking pot and said, “You bet I did, I enjoyed it.” Following his election, NORML purchased advertising with Bloomberg’s quote in Time Square.
Michael Bloomberg illustrates the underlying problem with all politicians. Politicians will say anything to get them elected. The American Public has become so jaded that these days they hardly even notice. Prior to his election, Obama admitted to smoking pot and promised to end federal raids on medical marijuana. Since that time Obama has backed off from both of those statements. Where is the public outcry? Where is the media coverage? The electorate is responsible for holding their officials to the promises they make. Americans love hearing their politicians make grand promises, but we must hold them accountable for what they say. The American public has to send a message to their politicians. Spending millions to prosecute a person for something that is not even a crime in their state is a waste.

Most often when Americans think of liberal marijuana policies, they think of California. In truth, Oregon and Washington State have been with or often ahead of Californian in regards to marijuana liberties. Oregon and Washington have some of the best run medical marijuana programs in the country. Oregon has also decriminalized marijuana possession and allows industrial hemp. Recently the U.S. Attorney for Oregon, Dwight Holton, promised to end the sale of medical marijuana in the state. Similarly, the State Supreme Court of Washington recently concluded that an employer can fire someone for legally using medical marijuana.
Holton, the US Attorney for Oregon, has come out swinging against Oregon’s liberal marijuana laws. Holton issued a letter to all of Oregon’s dispensaries in which he claimed, “the breathtaking surge in manufacture and distribution of marijuana in Oregon is putting marijuana in the hands of more and more healthy kids; and dispensaries are fueling this crisis.” He went on to call on landlords to kick out their dispensary tenants. In response to this, the dispensaries organized a protest at the Portland City Hall. Apparently, Holton then contacted City Councilman Nick Fish and attempted to get the dispensaries protest permit pulled. What Holton fails to realizes is that when the citizens of Oregon decriminalized marijuana, they stopped buying the protecting kids scare tactics. The citizens of Oregon understand marijuana is not harmful and should not be actively prosecuted. Councilman Fish is to be applauded for standing firm and permitting the demonstration.

The Washington Supreme Court recently ruled on the case of Doe v. Bremerton. The plaintiff used a fake name because Federally marijuana use is still illegal. Mrs. Doe was fired from the Bremerton Consulting Firm when she failed her random drug test. Mrs. Doe sued for wrongful termination as she was a legal participant in Washington’s medical marijuana program. After over 4 years of making its way though the courts, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defendant. They found that the Medical Marijuana Use Act protects the user from criminal prosecution, but it does not cover employment contracts. The lawyer for the plantiff stated he was “flabbergasted [that] qualified patients could lose their jobs simply for using medical marijuana at home in accordance with the act.” The Supreme Courts decision does have a valid point that the Washington legislature should close this loophole in the current law.
Rulings, such as these, coming out of traditional bastions of marijuana freedom are shocking. It is apparent that even in states that are taking a national lead on marijuana legislationm the people are still far ahead of their governments. Both of these examples show how the establishment still views marijuana as a dangerous substance that needs to be controlled. The public, however, is aware that marijuana is actually safer than many other legal substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and spray paint. American laws need to be adjusted nationwide to correctly correspond to the lack of danger posed by marijuana.

In the world we are living in today, more and more Americans support ending the drug war. The latest polls put nationwide support for complete legalization of marijuana at just under 50%. With the incredible spread of information over the past twenty years, everyone is beginning to see why the drug war should end. The reasons for this are as varied as the culture of America. There are three in particular that stand on their own as reasons to end the drug war if for no other reason. The first is the shear scale and harshness of the War on Drugs. Second is that criminal penalties have been proven to not reduce usage. Finally, open disregard for marijuana law breeds lack of respect for all law.
The War on Drugs has grown to a size and scope that is offensive to most Americans. Americans have a unique view of the ideal size and role of government. Nowhere in our Founding Fathers’ documents is their any provocation for intervening in private citizens’ personal choices. Since 1995 more than 9 million people have been arrested for marijuana. Even those that don’t face jail time are still penalized for life. With a drug conviction on your record you could potentially face consequences such as not being allowed to adopt a child, receive public housing or EBT stamps, receive student loans, serve on a jury, own a gun, or in some cases lose your eligibility to vote. With 90% of all marijuana arrests being for simple possession, it is impossible to understand why we need so many arrests and such harsh sentencing.

There have been several studies that have proven that stricter criminal penalties have little to no impact on usage rates. The National Research Council concluded that “perceived legal risk explains very little in the variance of individual drug use.” There are also studies that show that legalization and regulation can, in fact, decrease usage. The World Health Organization completed a study of the Netherlands that found lower marijuana usage per-capita than in the United Sates. If you truly want to lower drug use, the best thing you can do is legalize drugs.
The previous two reasons are compelling enough, but perhaps the worst victim of the drug war is overall respect for the law. Laws are what keep a civil society from digressing into anarchy. The most recent statistics find that over 80% of Americans have tried marijuana at least once. These people who tried marijuana have first hand knowledge of what it does and more importantly does not do. The American public sees the punishment stated in the first argument and know it doesn’t fit the crime. When the majority of the population is knowingly breaking and not respecting the law, society is in trouble. This is probably the biggest reason why the drug war has to end. If people are ever going to respect their government, they must first respect its laws.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy released its 2011 National Drug Control Strategy report in June. That is only six months late, which I guess is close enough for government work. The report contained many of the federally purported myths we are familiar with. Interestingly, the report did take time to discuss medical marijuana and the national legalization movement.
A section ironically titled “The Facts About Marijuana” dealt little with facts and figures of the Drug War and instead was a Christmas list of government propaganda. Pick anything out of this section and you will find laughable claims. For example, “Marijuana and other illicit drugs are addictive and unsafe […] marijuana on its own is associated with addiction, respiratory and mental illness, poor motor performance, cognitive impairment, among other negative effects.” These are the kind of lies we are used to hearing from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The most interesting section however, deals with the national legalization movement.

Confusing messages being conveyed by the entertainment industry, media, proponents of ‘medical’ marijuana, and political campaigns to legalize all marijuana use, perpetuate the false notion that marijuana use is harmless and aim to establish commercial access to the drug. This significantly diminishes efforts to keep our young people drug free and hampers the struggle of those recovering from addiction.

Congratulations! We are getting under their skin! Those “confusing messages” are also coming out of limited, government approved marijuana research projects. The report talks about how great the National Office of Drug Control Policy is for letting 109 researchers test the effects of marijuana. Of those 109 however, most are testing synthetic marijuana derivatives on animals. There are only fourteen researchers in the nation allowed to test the effects of smoked marijuana on human subjects. That number of researchers is less than the number of states with legal medical marijuana. Or put another way, one researcher for every eighteen million Americans who has tried marijuana. This number is on the decline, down four researchers from 18 researchers in 2010. This small and shrinking group of government approved researchers enable statements such as the one the government made only a week earlier. “There are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy” was the response from the administration on even having a debate on marijuana’s schedule 1 classification. Its a great system when you can control the studies that are supposed to control your action.

Part one is here: 2012 Candidates on Marijuana: Part 1

Mitt Romney- Grade: F

Romney got into trouble in 2008 when a wheelchair-bound medical marijuana patient asked him about his stance on medical marijuana. Romney listened compassionately to the man’s description of his illness and even apologized for his condition, until the young man turned to the subject of medical marijuana. Romney briskly turned his back on him and walked away. Romney has since stated that the medical marijuana movement is an effort by a small minority intent upon getting marijuana publicly accepted and eventually legalized. Romney is exactly right, except for the small minority part; over half of Americans support medical marijuana rights. During his term as Governor, Romney opposed research at two universities that were testing medical marijuana. Romney is not only against drug usage he is fundamentally opposed to drug culture. Romney is reported as saying, “I don’t want to encourage more involvement in or allow more people to get involved in marijuana and the drug culture.” Opposing drug culture is a big step from opposing drugs. What lengths would Mitt go to to stop drug culture? No more Cheech and Chong movies? No more Woodstock? In a field with few pro-pot choices, Romney might actually be the worst out of all of them.

Rick Santorum- Grade: C-

Rick Santorum has characterized himself as the most socially conservative of the candidates for President. Rick Santorum is the man who said:

If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery, you have the right to anything.

Amazingly, he has actually admitted to smoking and enjoying marijuana in college. This was a statement that you couldn’t pull from Bill Clinton with a pair of pliers. Santorum has come out against marijuana since then saying, “politicians who have stumbled personally, are capable of making values-based arguments. I don’t think that’s hypocritical.” Since being in office, Santorum has supported bills that would have increased the penalties on marijuana. Could Santorum be considered pro-pot? Hell no, but like anyone else who has tried it, he recognizes it is not like the Government has told us.

Ron Paul- Grade: A+

Ron Paul has been a long time supporter of legalization. During his 1988 run for President, he got into a debate on the Morton Downey Show with a chubby member of the audience who advocated a zero-tolerance policy and claimed Dr. Paul wanted to just “give up.” A younger and more fiery Ron Paul shot back:

What we give up on is a tyrannical approach to solving a social/medical problem. We endorse the idea of voluntarism and self-responsibility […] rather than say some monolithic government is going to make you […] be a better person. […] The government can’t make you a better person! It can’t make you follow good habits! Why don’t they put you on a diet you are a little overweight!

While he may be slightly more subdued these days, his views on marijuana remain the same. He maintains that he has never used marijuana, but believes that it is a personal choice. He has also said that marijuana has numerous medical uses and patients should not be denied access to any medicine. In June of 2011 Ron Paul, along with fellow House Member Barney Frank, introduced a bipartisan bill that would have ended the Federal Prohibition of Marijuana. Of course this bill never made it anywhere or you definitely would have heard a lot more about it. Ron Paul is a candidate who has a proven record of supporting marijuana legalization as a part of a bigger philosophy of personal choice, liberty, and freedom.

Part 2 is here: 2012 Candidates on Marijuana: Part 2

Michelle Bachmann- Grade: D

Michelle Bachmann has seemingly come out of nowhere to become a major political figure. She was first elected to Congress in 2006 and has become a major figure in the Tea Party. The Tea Party’s stated position is one of limited government intervention in the private lives of citizens. Despite this, Bachmann has come out strongly in support of using government power for social issues. Before her election, she ran the Bachmann & Associates psychiatric clinic; where they allegedly practiced sexual orientation correction. Bachmann is quoted as saying, “We need to have profound compassion for people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life and sexual identity disorders.” Bachmann has never given a direct statement on marijuana usage, but given her record on social issues her support for legalization is unlikely.

Newt Gingrich- Grade: F

Newt Gingrich’s political career peaked in the early to mid 90′s when he was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He has come out strongly against marijuana legalization. While serving as Speaker, Gingrich introduced the Drug Importer Death Penalty Act of 1997, which provided for either life in prison or death for anyone caught carrying more then two ounces of drugs into the country. The two ounce limit is particularly intriguing, because if you were planning to sell drugs in this country, two ounces would not get you very far. Gingrich has also said that simple possession should be punished by community services, but if a day of community service is missed a prison sentence of 5 years should be mandatory.

Gary Johnson- Grade: A+

Gary Johnson is not only the strongest pro-marijuana candidate in 2012; he may be the strongest pro-pot candidate ever. Johnson believes that legalization of drugs is one of the biggest issues facing the country at this moment. Johnson has publicly stated that the War on Drugs is a failure and needs to be ended. During his Governorship of New Mexico, he pushed for the complete legalization of marijuana. He rejects the gateway drug idea, and even recommends a system similar to Holland or Switzerland for dealing with hard drugs. Johnson admits to personally using marijuana during at least to periods in his life. In the 1990′s Johnson was recovering from a sever leg fracture and used marijuana for pain treatment. Johnson openly admits to using recreational marijuana in the 1970′s and enjoying it. He only gave up using marijuana to pursue his goals as a professional athlete.

Tim Pawlenty- Grade: D-

Tim Pawlenty was the Governor of Minnesota in 2002 and is famous for ending their $4.3 billion deficit. While serving as Governor he also vetoed a medical marijuana bill. He did this not once but on 9 different occasions. He has stated that legalizing marijuana would increase violent crime and would be a risk to public health and safety. Pawlenty believes that stricter border protection would end the supply of drugs in this country. When asked about states’ rights and medical marijuana, Pawlenty dodged saying simply, existing laws should be enforced. The sole thing that keeps Pawlenty from a completely failing grade is his support for drug treatment and rehab over prisons.