LAW ENFORCEMENT GROUP URGES LEGALIZED DRUGS TO AID ECONOMY

Legalizing narcotics could end an expensive and ineffective war on drugs and
pump billions of dollars into the ailing economy, according to a report
released this week.

The narcotics business has reached new levels of violence while
draining public budgets since the debut of a rhetorical "war on drugs"
almost four decades ago, according to the report by Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition, a national organization of police, prosecutors,
judges, FBI agents and corrections officials.

"We've got to wake up here and really do something about this," said
Maj. Neill Franklin, a former Maryland State Police narcotics officer
and Baltimore police trainer who contributed to the report.

"I'm a cop who knows the tragedies and violence associated with our
current narcotics policies and someone with enough common sense to see
prohibition is financially devastating to our economy."

Franklin was part of a narcotics team of seven state troopers in 1981,
which has evolved into the Baltimore police's Organized Crime Division
with more than 100 employees.

Costs for personnel and high-tech surveillance equipment soared, said
Franklin, who recalled monthly bills of more than $100,000 for just
renting undercover cars.

"The figures were mind-blowing ... and we fail to think about the
indirect costs of violence and trips to emergency rooms, property
damage, burglary, prison construction and [devalued] real estate in
troubled communities," he said.

A study by Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron found that
legalizing drugs would boost the economy annually by $76.8 billion,
which Franklin said would reduce taxes and benefit Baltimore schools.

Legalizing drugs also would improve public safety by eliminating
corner drug markets that support gangs, tempt youth to drop out of
school and perpetuate property crimes that fund addictions.

Homicides also could drop, Franklin argued, because dealers often kill
their competition and anyone caught in the crossfire. In addition,
unregulated drugs fluctuate in purity, leading addicts to overdose
unknowingly and refuse medical attention because of the stigma and
fear of criminal prosecution, he said.

The United States has the highest rates of marijuana and cocaine use
in the world, despite having some of the harshest penalties, according
to the World Health Organization. While the report suggests free
medical care for addicts in recovery, some opponents say that's
unrealistic.

"This is an intellectual pipe dream," said Mike Gimbel, a recovering
heroin addict and Sheppard Pratt Health System's drug addiction
director in Baltimore.

"People forget we're dealing with drug addicts who only want more
drugs. Anytime you legalize a substance, you increase the number of
users who become addicted."

And imposing an age limit for legal users would only create a black
market for minors, he added.

The report is being sent to legislatures nationwide and is available
at http://.www.WeCanDoItAgain.com.