AMERICA'S 'WAR ON DRUGS' ISN'T WORKING; NEW APPROACH NEEDED

It seems everyday I read stories like that in the Daily News about
the recent drug bust in Midland and Gladwin Counties ("Big drug bust
in Gladwin County," Jan. 12). Every day, in virtually every city
across the country, we have busts like this. Occasionally we will
arrest a major trafficker or make a large seizure but the stories
continue to roll on.

So, are we any closer to ending this new Prohibition, this War On Drugs?

As a former Chief of Police trained by both the FBI and DEA I have
watched for years as these busts continue unabated. Every bust of a
trafficker, whether of a major player in the illicit drugs trade or a
street level hustler, merely creates an opening for some new
entrepreneur to step up and gain a foothold in an extremely lucrative
trade with customers eager to buy, often regardless of product
quality or purity.

Unlike the purveyors of the legal substances tobacco or alcohol, the
dealers of our few illegal drugs remain free from the controls placed
upon legitimate business operators. They have no taxes to pay on
their sales and they have no code that requires identification checks
for underage consumers. And this is true whether the dealer is on our
local street corner or is a cartel head occupying a corner office in
an upscale business center or from the den of his mansion.

The failures of Prohibition - public corruption, violence between
competing gangs and syndicates, tainted products and criminal
enlistment of youth - are the same today as they were seven decades
ago when we ended the prohibition of alcohol early in the 20th
century. Remember, it wasn't alcohol that made Al Capone a rich thug,
it was Prohibition.

As a former officer of the law I understood my duty and always
carried it out professionally and with the intended goal of ending
drug trafficking and drug abuse. It was in seeing the failure of law
enforcement, whether on a local, federal or international level, that
prompted me to become a dissenter in this war. I am now a member of
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP, http://www.leap.cc/ ).
We are a rapidly growing group of largely former and retired criminal justice
professionals working to end - again - the failures of Prohibition.

LEAP is but 4 years old but has grown rapidly and now boasts a
membership of 6,500 concerned law enforcement officers, judges,
prosecutors, corrections officials and regular citizens. We strive to
counter the daily barrage of half truths and hubris emanating from
professional prohibitionists that continue to fill our newspapers and
other media outlets.

LEAP members understand that "zero-tolerance" is a mere catch phrase.
We understand that the prohibition supporters hold the reigns of
power. It is precisely because those in power are so entrenched that
we seek to educate the public through presentations, discussions and
debates. It is truly unfortunate that the officials to whom our drug
policies are entrusted are not interested in either debate or discussion.

But it is our way here in the U.S. to debate, to encourage the study
of issues , to challenge status quo policies that don't merit funding
or support. We are a nation founded upon the rejection of unlawful
seizures, the rejection of warrantless searches and rejection of
government interference in the affairs of families or individuals in
their homes.

Somehow in the 30 years since Nixon's declaration of war against a
certain few drugs we have gone from a nation proud of its reputation
as the Land of the Free to the most incarcerated population on earth.
We demonize drug users and we join the hoopla of anti-drug zealots
whose chimeric goals of purity dangle like a gilded carrot before the
horses (we, the people) pulling the Prohibition wagon.

Until we change our priorities from our present punitive drug
policies to more humane policies that recommend treatment for drug
abuse, that understands the difference between abuse and use and does
not destroy our "inalienable rights" we will continue to read (in
papers like the Midland Daily News) stories about drug busts and drug seizures.

Only when we legalize all drugs will we gain any form of control over
those now illegal. In the case of tobacco we can see how education
has proven to be an effective tool in decreasing the use of harmful
substances. One very valid point to consider is that in reducing
tobacco consumption it was accomplished through adequate funding,
legislative changes and the support of our communities, all without a
shot fired, without overcrowding our jails and prisons and without
the massive entrenched bureaucracy we are sorely burdened with today.