LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) has issued a press release informing voters about an attempt to censor any talk about decriminalisation in the Senate. Charles Grassley (R-IA), apparently a drug war supporter wants to place a poison pill in a bill that would kill any debate on the issue. The fact is that we do need to have this debate. The drug war has failed, cost us billions of dollars, thousands of lives (cops and civilian) and led to corruption and militarization in our police forces. It's time we had the discussion about drugs and what we really need to do. What we have been doing has failed abysmally.
Press release
Press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 3, 2009
CONTACT: Tom Angell -- (202) 557-4979 or media //at// leap.cc
U.S. SENATE TO VOTE ON CENSORING DRUG LEGALIZATION DEBATE
Cops and Judges Urge Judiciary Committee to Allow Decriminalization Discussion
WASHINGTON, DC -- A group of police and judges who support legalizing drugs after witnessing the failure of the "war on drugs" is urging the U.S. Senate to reject an amendment that would prohibit government policy advisers from even discussing legalization or decriminalization.
The censorship amendment, authored by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), could be voted on as soon as this Thursday, Nov. 5. If adopted during the Judiciary Committee markup for Sen. Jim Webb's National Criminal Justice Commission Act (S. 714), the rider would ban the commission from conducting any activities that "involve, support, or otherwise discuss the decriminalization of any offense under the Controlled Substances Act or the legalization of any controlled substance listed under the Controlled Substances Act."
"Senator Grassley’s censorship amendment would block what Senator Webb is trying to achieve with this bill," said Jack Cole, a retired undercover narcotics detective who now heads the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). "All along, Senator Webb has said that in the effort to fix our broken criminal justice system 'nothing should be off the table.' That should include the obvious solution of ending the 'drug war' as a way to solve the unintended problems caused by that failed policy."
LEAP is urging people to visit Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and take action by sending a letter to their senators urging them to oppose the censorship amendment.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is a 15,000-member organization representing cops, judges, prosecutors, prison wardens and others who now want to legalize and regulate all drugs after witnessing horrors and injustices fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs." More info online at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com.
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Update: For this press release we also have a Digg submission that links directly to the form letter. Please visit this link and Digg the story (this is in addition to the Digg button below... it's sort of a two for one deal this time around.)