SUPPORT DRUG POLICY REFORM, REGULATION

Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville testified at the recent committee
meeting on marijuana decriminalization held by the Hawaii County
Council. During his presentation against the resolution, he trumpeted
the words of King James I, who in 1604 issued a proclamation about the
health hazards of tobacco.

What Mr. Damerville neglected to mention was that the king did not
throw people in jail for possessing a substance used by consenting
adults. Such a policy would have filled the jails and reduced
productivity across the land. Instead, he took a wiser course. He
educated his subjects about the dangers of tobacco and he regulated
and controlled its use by applying tax rates as high as six shillings
and 10 pence per imported pound.

As a Canadian police officer visiting Hawaii for the first time, I was
surprised by Mr. Damerville's opposition marijuana reform. While
off-duty, I volunteer with an international non-profit organization
called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. LEAP is group of judges,
prosecutors, police officers and correctional staff who seek to end
the global war on drugs. We don't support or encourage drug abuse, or
breaking the law. However, we believe that a system of regulation
would be more ethical and less harmful than prohibition. We seek
gradually to legalize and regulate all drugs in order to minimize the
crime, addiction, disease and death generated by the black market for
illegal drugs.

Perhaps Mr. Damerville will consider joining us?

David Bratzer

Victoria, BC Canada