EX-COP RALLIES ON HILL TO LEGALIZE POT

OTTAWA (CP) - A retired drug cop found an attentive crowd gathered on
Parliament Hill on Saturday to protest marijuana prohibition and advocate
regulation.

Jack Cole isn't the type of person you would expect to see at a rally to
legalize pot.

During his 26-year career with the New Jersey state police, Cole spent 12
years as an undercover narcotics officer. His investigations ran the gamut
from street drug dealers to international trafficking organizations.

Now retired, Cole has taken a decidedly different stance on the role of
illegal drugs in society.

Cole is a founder and executive director of Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition, an international organization of current and former members of
law enforcement.

"I believe in legalizing all drugs," Cole said, explaining that legalization
would allow the government to regulate and control the distribution,
consumption and production of drugs - therefore forcing criminals out of the
equation.

"When I speak to police officers on a one-to-one basis, they almost always
agree with me that the war on drugs is a dismal failure," he said.

The Fill the Hill rally drew an estimated crowd of 1,500 people.

Later, a man was arrested nearby with a hockey bag full of marijuana.