In October 2012, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) co-founder, Peter Christ, appeared on WGRZ-TV in Buffalo, NY and takes on all aspects of our disastrous War on Drugs. Captain Christ is vice-chair of LEAP and a former police officer.
Captain Christ makes excellent points as to why we should finally end this war and legalize drugs including how law enforcement’s function should not be to enforce morality. He states that it would be more beneficial to our society to have the drug marketplace run by professional, licensed adults as opposed to gangster, thugs, terrorists (which even includes children). We need to accept the fact that drugs are always going to be in our society and anyone who wants to take a specific illegal drug can find a way to get it; whether or not it’s legalized will, therefore, not be promoting as those opposed to drug legalization claim.
Perhaps Captain Christ’s most convincing point was comparing the current legalization of tobacco to the effects of drug legalization. In the last 10 years, 50% of adult cigarette smokers quit and we did not ban a single cigarette. All we need to do similar regulations for other drugs and people would not feel condoned, but instead inhibited.
The Failed War on Drugs 