On 40th Anniversary Of War On Drugs, Cops Decry Obama's Drug Policy [View All]

[DeSwiss]

Source: The Huffington Post

On 40th Anniversary Of War On Drugs, Cops Decry Obama's Drug Policy

Lucia Graves | Huffington Post | First Posted: 06/15/11 06:56 PM ET Updated: 06/15/11 10:51 PM ET



WASHINGTON -- Forty years after President Richard Nixon first declared a war on drugs, the officers who fought in it are calling for a truce. Former law enforcement officials gathered in the District of Columbia on Tuesday to announce their new report. It details the failures of the government's long battle against illegal drugs and denounces the Obama administration's current drug policies.

"Since President Nixon declared 'war on drugs' four decades ago, this failed policy has led to millions of arrests, a trillion dollars spent and countless lives lost, yet drugs today are more available than ever," said Norm Stamper, former chief of police in Seattle and a speaker for legalization-advocacy group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

"President Obama's drug officials keep saying they've ended the 'drug war,'" the LEAP member said. "But our report shows that's just not true, and we'll be hand-delivering a copy to the drug czar in hopes he'll be convinced to actually end this war, or at least stop saying he already has."

The officers' announcement came just weeks after the Global Commission on Drugs -- which includes former United Nations chief Kofi Annan and past presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia -- released a report urging a non-criminal approach to world drug policy.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/15/40-anniversary-war-on-drugs-cops-obama_n_877702.html

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DeSwiss

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