MARIJUANA POSSESSION SHOULD NOT BE ILLEGAL

To the editors of the Tufts Daily:

As the executive director of the world's largest organization of
police, judges and other criminal justice professionals who oppose
the policy of drug prohibition, I'd like to echo the smart
conclusions of letter writer Kirk Muse (Letter to the Editor,
"Legalizing marijuana could lead to less crime," Mar. 6, 2006).

Regardless of how we choose to assess the potential health benefits
and/or risk attached to marijuana use, having the criminal justice
system as the primary arm of public response is bad policy.

Using police and the criminal courts to punish marijuana users leaves
cops short on needed manpower and resources needed to deal with
street level crimes against persons and/or property.

The cited motivation of those insisting on criminal penalties for
marijuana possession is its potential risk to health and well-being.

But cops are not health care professionals. Prison cells are not
places where health care and treatment take place. And a lifetime
criminal record will most certainly hamper the health of one's
long-term future.

By all means, increase accurate education about marijuana to all
citizens and make any needed medical care more accessible to all citizens.

But don't shackle the police with a job which should be reserved for
health care professionals and educators.

More important - based on our combined decades of experience fighting
the so-called "drug war" - it's time to legalize marijuana and move
production and distribution into a licensed and regulated setting.

This need is even more urgent if one views pot as a dangerous drug.
It is our opinion that risky and dangerous substances are best
distributed in controlled and regulated settings.

Such regulation is impossible under a system of criminal prohibition.

Jack A. Cole

Executive Director

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Medford, Mass.