http://www.leap.cc/cms/ Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) en-us Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:00:52 GMT 1440 CPG-Nuke Dragonfly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) News http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.leap.cc/cms/images/logo.gif http://www.leap.cc/cms/ http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=80 NEW FBI NUMBERS SHOW FAILURE OF "WAR ON DRUGS" WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A group of police and judges who want to legalize drugs pointed to new FBI numbers released today as evidence that the "war on drugs" is a failure that can never be won. The data, from the FBI's "Crime in the United States" report, shows that in 2008 there were 1,702,537 arrests for drug law violations, or one drug arrest every 18 seconds. "In our current economic climate, we simply cannot afford to keep arresting more than three people every minute in the failed 'war on drugs,'" said Jack Cole, a retired undercover narcotics detective who now heads the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). "Plus, if we legalized and taxed drug sales, we could actually create new revenue in addition to the money we'd save from ending the cruel policy of arresting users." Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:00:52 GMT http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=79 NEW YORK― Walter Cronkite, America’s trusted broadcaster and father figure to a nation for decades, has died in New York at the age of 92. Covering the most important stories of his time – including the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., the ups and downs of the Vietnam War, Egypt’s breakthrough peace treaty with Israel, and man’s first step on the moon – Americas trusted Walter Cronkite to report the facts the way they were, as symbolized by his famous sign off, “That’s the way it is.” Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:28:26 GMT http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=78 Drug-Legalizing Cops Say Prohibition Is Opposite of Drug Control FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 2009 CONTACT: Tom Angell – (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc WASHINGTON, D.C. – A group of police, prosecutors, judges and corrections officers who fought on the front lines of the "war on drugs" reiterated their call for legalizing and regulating all drugs after today's release of the United Nations World Drug Report 2009, which begins with an attempted refutation of legalization arguments – on page one of the report. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:55:13 GMT http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=77 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 11, 2009 Obama Names Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske As Director of ONDCP Drug-Legalizing Retired Seattle Chief Norm Stamper Comments WASHINGTON, DC -- Vice President Joe Biden announced the Obama administration's nomination of Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske today as the nation's next "drug czar," formally known as director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:21:11 GMT http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=76 City Council Upholds Mayor's Veto After Hint of Losing Funds FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 14, 2009 El Paso, TX -- On Tuesday the El Paso City Council voted, 4-4, to sustain the mayor's veto of a resolution calling for a national debate on drug legalization as a solution to the cartel violence problem plaguing sister city Cuidad Juarez, just across the Mexico border. Three of the four council members voting to uphold the mayor's silencing of the discussion said on the record during council deliberations that they did so only because Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) and the city's state legislative delegation sent letters raising the possibility that El Paso would lose federal and state money should it continue insisting that legalization is a debatable solution to illegal drug trade violence. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:11:12 GMT http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=75 Sergeant Fired After Criticizing "War on Drugs," Now Reinstated FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 13, 2009 SEATTLE, WA -- A Mountlake Terrace police sergeant who was fired after publicly criticizing the "war on drugs" has reached an $812,500 settlement in a lawsuit he filed against the city and police department, among others. Under the settlement, Sergeant Jonathan Wender has been reinstated on the force and is eligible to receive back pay and full retirement benefits. Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:06:36 GMT http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=74 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 29, 2008 CONTACT: Tom Angell, LEAP -- (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc Cartels Buy Info on President Calderon's Travels and Murder Soldiers WASHINGTON, DC -- Today a group of law enforcement officials said that the only way to stop the continual corruption of the Mexican military by violent cartels is to legalize and regulate drugs. The call for an end to prohibition comes in response to news that an army officer in Mexican's presidential guard received $100,000 a month from the cartels in exchange for information on the whereabouts of the country's president, Felipe Calderon. Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:33:55 GMT http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=73 NEWS ADVISORY: November 26, 2008 CONTACT: Tom Angell, LEAP – (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc Cops Say Legalizing Drugs Can Boost Economy by Billions 75th Anniversary of Alcohol Prohibition’s End Inspires Modern Effort WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, December 2, a group of law enforcers who fought on the front lines of the “war on drugs” and witnessed its failures will commemorate the 75th anniversary of alcohol prohibition’s repeal by calling for drug legalization. The cops, judges and prosecutors will release a report detailing how many billions of dollars can be used to boost the ailing economy when drug prohibition is ended. Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:51:52 GMT http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=72 Available for Interview: Cops and Judges Who Support Legalization FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 2, 2008 CONTACT: Tom Angell: (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three out of four U.S. voters see the war on drugs as a failure, according to a Zogby poll released today. More than one in three voters believe that the single best way to fight drug traffickers and drug abuse would be “legalizing some drugs” or “ending the war on drugs.” That’s more than those who think “stopping drugs at the U.S. border” or eradicating drugs in their countries of origin would be more effective. It is also more than those who think that reducing the demand for drugs in America is the best tactic. Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:08:28 GMT http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=71 This morning the US Department of Justice trumpeted a press release about its September 16, 2008 arrests. "175 Alleged Gulf Cartel Members and Associates Arrested in Massive International Law Enforcement Operation" “'Project Reckoning' Leads to the Seizure of $60 Million and More Than 40 Tons of Illegal Drugs From One of Mexico’s Largest Drug Trafficking Cartels" DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said, "We successfully completed a hard-hitting, coordinated and massive assault on the powerful and extremely violent Gulf Cartel. We have arrested U.S. cell heads, stripped the cartel of $60 million in cash, imprisoned their brutal assassins and significantly disrupted their U.S. infrastructure.” But as reported in today’s New York Times article, "Blasts Kill 7 at Independence Day Celebration in Mexican President's Hometown," by Marc Lacey, the drug lords were not long in retaliating. By 11 p.m. last night there were seven dead and over a hundred injured in hand grenade attacks. Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:10:29 GMT