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LEGALIZE IT, EX-COP TELLS HILL POT RALLY
(Media Awareness Project, 06 Jun 2004)
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. 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.

posted by A Curmudgeon 4:59 PM