WE WASTE LAW-ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES ON MARIJUANA PROHIBITION

As a retired police detective working full-time in Washington, D.C.,
since 2006 to repeal federal marijuana prohibition, I appreciated
your column on cannabis users (Danehy, April 1). Every hour spent
chasing a Michael Phelps or Willie Nelson means we catch fewer DUIs
and child molesters. To arrest 800,000-odd persons for possession and
sale, law enforcement spends a solid 10 million hours every year.
This is not funny. This is a horrific waste of our time, and innocent
citizens are hurt and killed as we chase Willie onto his back porch.

My law-enforcement colleagues and, especially, their lobbyists here
in D.C. focus on paychecks and job security, not public safety, not
crime levels, not victims of crime. For the 800,000 cops in this
country, this is all about money. Ditto the prison guards.

Howard Wooldridge

Drug policy specialist, Citizens Opposing Prohibition