LEGALIZE IT, EX-COP TELLS HILL POT RALLY

Jack Cole is not 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 drug trafficking
organizations.

Now retired, the Medford, Me., resident has taken a decidedly different
stance on illegal drugs.

FORCE CRIMINALS OUT

Cole is a founding member and executive director of Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition (LEAP), an international, drug-policy-reform organization
consisting of current and former members of law enforcement.

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

Cole said his views on the legalization of drugs are shared by many in law
enforcement, but most don't speak out for fear of retribution within the
ranks.

"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 retired cop found an attentive crowd in those who gathered on Parliament
Hill yesterday to protest marijuana prohibition and advocate regulation.

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

Later, a man was arrested at nearby Nepean Point for having a hockey bag
full of marijuana. The 1,330 grams of pot had been divided into 400 separate
baggies and had a street value of about $20,000.