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New UN Drug Czar From Russia Takes Office
Yury Fedotov, a veteran diplomat who until recently was the Kremlin's top envoy to Britain, replaced Italy's Antonio Maria Costa as the head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
In The Trenches
California Law Enforcers Endorse Proposition 19
Today at press conferences in Oakland and Los Angeles, a group of police officers, judges and prosecutors released the following letter of endorsement for Prop. 19/marijuana legalization signed by dozens of law enforcers from across California.
Law Enforcers Say Control and Tax Cannabis to Protect Public Safety
To the Voters of California:
As police officers, judges, prosecutors, corrections officials and others who have labored to enforce the laws that seek to prohibit cannabis (marijuana) use, and who have witnessed the abysmal failure of this current criminalization approach, we stand together in calling for new laws that will effectively control and tax cannabis.
As criminal justice professionals, we have seen with our own eyes that keeping cannabis illegal damages public safety -- for cannabis consumers and non-consumers alike. We’ve also seen that prohibition sometimes has tragic consequences for the law enforcers charged with putting their lives on the line to enforce it. The only groups that benefit from continuing to keep marijuana illegal are the violent gangs and cartels that control its distribution and reap immense profits from it through the black market.
If California's voters make the sensible decision to effectively control and tax cannabis this November, it will eliminate illegal marijuana distribution networks, just as ending alcohol prohibition put a stop to violent and corrupting gangsters' control of beer, wine and liquor sales.
As law enforcement professionals, we especially want voters to understand that legalization will allow us to do our jobs more effectively and safely. In 2008, there were over 60,000 arrests for simple misdemeanor cannabis possession in California, yet nearly 60,000 violent crimes went unsolved in our state that same year. When we change our cannabis laws, police officers will no longer have to waste time on low-level cannabis arrests; we'll be able to focus on protecting the public from murderers, rapists, drunk drivers and burglars. Cannabis cases will no longer clog up court dockets. And room in our costly, overflowing prisons will be freed up when we stop locking people up just because they tested positive for cannabis while on probation.
Because of all the overhead and administrative savings that legalization will generate, our criminal justice apparatus will have more resources to keep more good law enforcers employed serving the public in this time of fiscal turmoil. Ending prohibition will also put a stop to other crimes and problems caused by the illegal marijuana market, such as robberies, gang warfare, gun-running and house fires caused by underground grow operations.
Controlling marijuana through a regulated system will also reduce its availability to kids. Right now, illegal dealers have no incentive to check IDs or avoid selling to juveniles, given that the market is illegal for everyone. But under adult legalization, licensed cannabis businesses will face penalties and consequences that will effectively deter underage sales. Indeed, a recent study from Columbia University shows that teens currently find it easier to purchase illegal marijuana than age-regulated alcohol.
And, because marijuana is illegal and unregulated, its producers aren’t required to do any quality control or safety evaluation, and sometimes it is adulterated with other drugs or harmful chemicals. While law enforcers understand that every drug has the potential for abuse, making cannabis illegal has made it much more dangerous than it otherwise would be under effective regulation.
Please join us in supporting the sensible solution to California’s failed cannabis policies. Let’s vote to control and tax cannabis this November – for safety’s sake.
Sincerely,
MacKenzie Allen
Former Deputy Sheriff, Los Angeles Sheriff's Dept.
Deputy Sheriff, King County Sheriff's Dept. (Ret.)
James Anthony
Former Community Prosecutor, Oakland City Attorney's Office
L. Lawrence Baird
Former Senior Reserve Park Ranger, Orange County
William Baldwin
Correctional Officer, California Department of Corrections (Ret.)
Nate Bradley
Former Officer, Wheatland Police Department
Former Deputy, Sutter County Sheriff's Office
Walter Clark
Deputy District Attorney, County of Riverside District Attorney's Office (Ret.)
Stephen Cobine
Captain, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (Ret.)
William John Cox
Former Officer, El Cajon Police Department
Former Sergeant, Los Angeles Police Department
Former Deputy, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Retired Supervising Trial Counsel, State Bar of California
Bill Dake
Former Officer, San Francisco Police Department
David Doddridge
Narcotics Officer, Los Angeles Police Department (Ret.)
Stephen Downing
Deputy Chief, Los Angeles Police Department (Ret.)
Rick Erickson
Officer, Lakeport Police Department (Ret.)
Paul Gallegos
District Attorney, County of Humboldt
Dr. Nina Graves
Former Military Police, Santa Barbara
James Gray
Judge, Superior Court of Orange County (Ret.)
Terence Hallinan
Former San Francisco District Attorney
Russ Jones
Former Narcotics Detective, San Jose Police Department, DEA Task Force
Kyle Kazan
Former Officer, Torrance Police Department
Leo E. Laurence
Former Biker Enforcement Task Force Member, San Diego District Attorney's Office
Former Deputy Sheriff, Missouri
Madeline Martinez
Correctional Peace Officer (Ret.), State of California Department of Corrections
Danny Maynard
Former Yolo County Sheriff’s Office
Former Sacramento Port Police Department
Walter McKay
Former Senior Police Specialist, Police Assessment Resources Center, Los Angeles, CA
Former Detective, Vancouver Police Department
Joseph McNamara
Chief of Police, San Jose Police Department (Ret.)
Joe Miller
Deputy Probation Officer, Mohave County Probation Department
Police Officer, Needles Police Department (Ret.)
John O'Brien
Sheriff, Genesee County, MI (Ret.)
University of Phoenix, Southern California campus
John A. Russo
Oakland City Attorney
David Sinclair
Former Deputy Sheriff, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff
Mike Schmier
Former Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles
Former Administrative Law Judge California State
Former Federal Labor Prosecutor San Francisco
Jeffrey Schwartz
Senior Deputy District Attorney, Humboldt County (Ret.)
Lyle Smith
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (Ret.)
Norm Stamper
Executive Assistant Chief of Police, San Diego Police Department (Ret.)
Chief of Police, Seattle Police Department (Ret.)
Jeff Studdard
Former Reserve Deputy Sheriff, Los Angeles County
All agency affiliations are listed for identification purposes only.
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In The Trenches
Law Enforcement Support for California Cannabis Initiative Growing (Press Release)
NEWS ADVISORY: September 10, 2010
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media//at//leap//dot//cc
LAW ENFORCEMENT SUPPORT FOR CALIFORNIA CANNABIS INITIATIVE GROWING
Cops and Judges to Endorse Prop 19 at Simultaneous Northern and Southern California Press Conferences Monday, Sept 13 at 10:00 AM PDT
Campaign Also Holding Telephone Press Conference Monday Afternoon at 12:30 PM PDT
(OAKLAND, CA) -- A group of police officers, judges, and prosecutors who support Proposition 19, the California ballot measure to control and tax cannabis (marijuana), will hold simultaneous press conferences Monday, September 13 in front of Oakland City Hall and in West Hollywood Park near Los Angeles at 10 AM PDT to release a letter of endorsement signed by dozens of law enforcers across the state.
"At each step of my law enforcement career - from beat officer up to chief of police in two major American cities - I saw the futility of our marijuana prohibition laws," said Joseph McNamara, former police chief in San Jose and Kansas City, MO, now a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. "But our marijuana laws are much worse than ineffective: they waste valuable police resources and also create a lucrative black market that funds cartels and criminal gangs with billions of tax-free dollars."
Former LAPD sergeant and Los Angeles County deputy district attorney William John Cox, added, "This November, Californians finally have a chance to flip the equation and put drug cartels out of business, while restoring public respect for the criminal laws and their enforcement by passing Proposition 19 to control and regulate marijuana."
Also speaking at the press conferences will be current Oakland city attorney John Russo, former LAPD deputy police chief Stephen Downing, former Oakland drug nuisance prosecutor James Anthony, retired Orange County Superior Court judge Jim Gray, former Torrance Police Department beat officer and drug identification expert Kyle Kazan, former Wheatland, CA police officer Nate Bradley, and others.
In the sign-on letter being released at the press conferences, dozens of law enforcers outline their reasons for supporting Proposition 19, detailing how it will:
* Put our police priorities where they belong, by ending the arrests of non-violent cannabis consumers, and enabling police to focus instead on preventing violent crime
* Cut off funding to violent gangs and drug cartels, who generate the majority of their revenue from illegal marijuana sales
* Protect the lives of police officers now at risk in the "drug war" line of fire
* Reduce marijuana access to children by instituting strict age-limits and public safety controls
* Restore mutual respect and good relations between law enforcement and communities bearing the brunt of the current marijuana laws
For journalists who can’t physically attend the press conferences, the Yes on 19 campaign will be holding a conference call featuring several anti-prohibition law enforcers on Monday at 12:30 PM PDT. For dial-in info, please contact Tom Angell at 202-557-4979 or media at leap dot cc.
These law enforcement leaders join the National Black Police Association, the California NAACP, doctors, Latino community leaders, faith leaders, labor, business leaders, elected officials, political parties, and more, in endorsing Proposition 19. For a full list of endorsements, please visit: http://www.yeson19.com/endorsements.
Similar to current alcohol and tobacco laws, Proposition 19 will give state and local governments the ability to control and tax the sale of small amounts of cannabis to adults age 21 and older. As the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), which provides non-partisan fiscal and policy advice, confirms, Prop 19 includes significant safeguards and controls: It maintains strict criminal penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana, increases the penalty for providing marijuana to a minor, expressly prohibits the consumption of marijuana in public, forbids smoking marijuana while minors are present, and bans possession on school grounds.
http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/initiatives/pdfs/i821_initiative_09-0024_amdt_1-s.pdf,
http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2010/19_11_2010.pdf (Page 3)
California’s tax collector, the Board of Equalization (BOE), which currently collects alcohol and tobacco taxes, estimates that marijuana taxes could generate $1.4 billion in revenue each year, available to fund law enforcement, healthcare, and other critical needs.
www.boe.ca.gov/legdiv/pdf/ab0390-1dw.pdf
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) also says Prop 19 would enable California to put our police priorities where they belong, in that it “could result in savings to the state and local governments by reducing the number of marijuana offenders incarcerated in state prisons and county jails, as well as the number placed under county probation or state parole supervision. These savings could reach several tens of millions of dollars annually. The county jail savings would be offset to the extent that jail beds no longer needed for marijuana offenders were used for other criminals who are now being released early because of a lack of jail space."
http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2010/19_11_2010.pdf (Page 6)
Multiple polls show that a majority of California voters support Proposition 19.
http://polltracker.talkingpointsmemo.com/contests/2010-ca-prop-19
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Event
Criminal Justice Commission National Call-in Day September 15
National Call-in Day to Support Senate Passage of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act
BACKGROUND INFO:
In 2009, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) and 15 bipartisan cosponsors introduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, legislation that would create a bipartisan Commission to review and identify effective criminal justice policies and make recommendations for reform. The House of Representatives reviewed and favorably passed the bill, and now the bill awaits passage by the United States Senate. We need your help urging the Senate to prioritize and pass this important legislation!
ACTION NEEDED:
On Wednesday, September 15th, individuals nationwide will urge passage of this legislation by calling their Senators to ask them to prioritize and support Senate passage of the house-passed version of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, H.R. 5143/S. 714.
We hope that you will join us in making these critical calls! To contact your Senators, call the U.S. Capitol Switch Board at 202-224-3121.
MESSAGE TO SENATORS:
• Prompt consideration of the House-passed National Criminal Justice Commission Act is critical as the Senate winds down its legislative calendar. I urge you to endorse this legislation and prioritize its passage.
• Having a transparent and bipartisan Commission review and identify effective criminal justice policies would increase public safety.
• The increase in incarceration over the past twenty years has stretched the system beyond its limits. These high costs to taxpayers are unsustainable, especially during these tough economic times.
• The proposed independent commission would conduct a comprehensive national review of effective criminal justice policies and would issue recommendations for consideration at the state, local and federal level.
If you have any questions about the Wednesday, September 15th National Call-In Day,
please contact Kara Gotsch at [email protected].
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Tell Chairman Conyers It's Time for Truth! (Action Alert)
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