US: National Black Police Association Endorses Marijuana Legalization/Regulation initiative

Below is a press release issued yesterday by the US based Law Enforcement Against Prohibition detailing the newly announced support of the National Black Police Association for California Prop 19 ballot initiative that would legalise and regulate non-medical cannabis production and sale for over 21s in the state (details here). This follows the support of California's National Association for the Advancement of Black People backing the initiative last month.

The latest announcement has already been covered in the New York Times , LA Times and others


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 19, 2010
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media//at//leap//dot//cc

National Black Police Association Endorses Marijuana Legalization

African American Cops Say California's Prop. 19 Will Protect Civil Rights & Public Safety

SACRAMENTO, CA -- A national organization of African American law enforcement officers has announced its endorsement of Proposition 19, California's initiative to legalize marijuana.

The National Black Police Association (NBPA), which was founded in 1972 and is currently holding its 38th national conference in Sacramento, is urging a yes vote on legalization this November 2.

"When I was a cop in Baltimore, and even before that when I was growing up there, I saw with my own eyes the devastating impact these misguided marijuana laws have on our communities and neighborhoods. But it's not just in Baltimore, or in Los Angeles; prohibition takes a toll on people of color across the country," said Neill Franklin, a 33-year veteran police officer and executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an international group of pro-legalization cops, judges, prosecutors and corrections officials who have been organizing to support Prop. 19. "This November, with the National Black Police Association's help, Californians finally have an opportunity to do something about it by approving the initiative to control and tax marijuana."

On Thursday, Franklin spoke alongside California NAACP president Alice Huffman at the NBPA conference on a panel about criminal justice issues like marijuana legalization.

Many cops and civil rights leaders are now speaking out against marijuana prohibition because it is not only ineffective at reducing marijuana use and results in the arrest and incarceration of people of color at a highly disproportionate rate, but also because making marijuana illegal has created a lucrative black market controlled by violent gangs and cartels. LEAP has organized a group of more than 30 California police officers, judges, prosecutors and other criminal justice professionals who support Prop. 19.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and its 30,000 supporters represent police, prosecutors, judges, FBI/DEA agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs after fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and learning firsthand that prohibition only serves to worsen addiction and violence.

According to NBPA, there are 80,000 black law enforcement officials in the U.S.

For more information, visit http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com or http://www.BlackPolice.org

Transform invited to address New York Bar Association in November

 
 The New York City Bar Association's Committee on Drugs and the Law presents
CONFRONTING AN OXYMORON: TAKING CONTROL OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
November 16, 2010, 5:30 p.m 42 West 44th Street, New York NY
The Federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 defines U.S. drug control. For forty years it has affected crime, public health, and the justice system, with little success: the societal harm relating to drugs continues to escalate.

On this fortieth anniversary of the Controlled Substances Act, the Committee on Drugs and the Law will present an international group of experts to address key questions:
What can health and law enforcement officials do differently to control the supply of and demand for psychoactive substances?

What economic, regulatory, and social tools to control the drug markets are we not using?

Which currently regulated markets for potentially harmful substances or products might be adapted to control the sale and use of illicit drugs?

Which controls best protect young people?

Speakers

Roger Goodman, J.D., Vice Chair, House Judiciary Committee, Washington State Legislature, Kirkland, WA.
Topic: Current legislative struggles to reform drug regulation at the state level: legal, practical and ideological obstacles.Mark Haden, M.S.W., Addiction Clinical Supervisor, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Topic: Options for regulation of drugs based on public health and human rights.Nathan Riley, Legislative Assistant, N.Y. State Senator Joseph Galiber (1990-1993), New York, NY.
Topic: An early attempt to create a regulated market for drugs in New York State and public health crises as the primary impetus for drug law reform to date.Stephen Rolles, Senior Policy Analyst, Transform Drug Policy Foundation, author of “After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation,” Bristol, England.
Topic: Existing models around the world for regulating products such as caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, as well as prohibited psychoactive substances.Marc Sorini, Esq., Head of the Alcohol Regulatory and Distribution Group, McDermott Will & Emery, Washington, D.C.
Topic: The legal mechanism of alcohol regulation. (This presentation will focus exclusively on alcohol control and will take no position regarding drug law.)Eric E. Sterling, President, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, Assistant Counsel, U.S. House Judiciary Committee (1979-1989), Silver Spring, MD.
Topic: History of federal drug laws from 1914, focusing on the Controlled Substances Act and Reagan-era criminal statutes.