LEADER OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGAINST PROHIBITION (LEAP) SPEAKS AT FPC

Drugs, disease, crime, corruption and racial profiling were just some
of the subjects covered by retired undercover narcotics officer Jack
A. Cole in his discussion about drug legalization on Thursday, March
9th in Marcucella Hall.

Four years ago, Cole and four other officers started an international
nonprofit organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
(LEAP). The goal of LEAP is to educate the public on the negative
consequences of the continuing war on drugs.

Cole, LEAP's executive director, gave a presentation that was filled
with jaw-dropping statistics, all which back up his belief that the
drug war (a term coined by President Nixon in 1968) has caused more
problems than it solved.

"If we end drug prohibition, like we ended alcohol prohibition in
1933, we would lessen the incidents for death, disease, crime and
addiction," said Cole.

Cole reported that 1.6 million people are arrested on drug charges
every year. He pointed out that the government spends over $69
Billion every year punishing these criminals. Cole also displayed
some solutions to what he, in addition to LEAP's 5000 or so other
members, consider to be a very big problem.

One solution advocated by LEAP would be for the U.S. to adopt drug
policies like those in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a far
lower percentage of drug related crime, addiction, and an even lower
use of soft drugs such as marijuana. Cole believes this is due in
large part to the Netherlands treating drug addiction as a health
issue instead of a crime.

Cole explained that he reversed his personal feelings on the war on
drugs in 1973. His new stance on drug use came after about nine years
on the New Jersey State Police department, three of which were spent
as an undercover narcotics investigator. Cole did not retire,
however, until after spending 26 years with the New Jersey State Police.

"I had an epiphany," said Cole. "I found that I liked the people I
was working on better than those I was working for. They seemed less
likely to turn their backs on me."

This event was sponsored by Students for a Sensible Drug Policy
(SSDP). SSDP is a national organization with a chapter at Franklin
Pierce College.

Junior Jonathan Perri is president of their SSDP chapter.

"Law enforcement officials are among our greatest allies in ending
the war on drugs," said Perri.

SSDP is committed to the same type of drug war education as LEAP. The
FPC chapter of SSDP focuses more on this issue from a student level.
One of their main goals to repeal the Higher Education Act (HEA) drug
provision, which is a law that has denied federal financial aid to
over 200,000 students because of a drug conviction.