Police Motivation

To the editor:

In his Aug. 13 column ("Police endorsements makes one wonder: Who's on
first?"), John L. Smith raised questions about trusting the police.
Perhaps this is a good time to look at the motivation behind some of
their actions.

The key reason police want to keep marijuana illegal is simple: Much
of the equipment and police cars is paid for with the proceeds of
seizures from drug busts, primarily from low-level marijuana dealers.
Even in states where asset forfeiture is illegal, local police turn
dealers over to federal authorities with an agreement that their local
department will get a percentage of the federal seizure (I would call
this a "commission").

This is a classic example of how our justice system has been corrupted
by the huge amount of money involved in the illegal drug trade. Andy
Anderson, former president of NCOPS, tried to support an initiative,
Question 9, that would legalize small amounts of marijuana. The
initiative would be good for society as a whole, but would cost the
police part of their equipment budget. The result is that Mr. Anderson
is now out of a job.

MARK LEHRER

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH