| Volume 2, Number 4, 
| Volume 2 Number 3, 
| Volume 2 No. 2, 
| Volume 2 No. 1 
| Volume 1 No. 4, 
| Volume 1 No. 3, 
| Volume 1 No. 2 
| Volume 1 Number 1 By Nate Bradley, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Yes, I know it sounds scary, but take it from me, a former cop: Talking to police officers about marijuana legalization is easy, fun and rewarding.
Believe it or not, a large portion of law enforcement either supports marijuana legalization or hasn’t made up its mind yet. Look at how few law enforcement unions came out and opposed Prop 19. Only three of California’s 58 Sheriff Department associations and four of more than 200 city police associations actually took positions officially opposing Prop 19.
The Yes on Prop 19 campaign featured many cops, judges and prosecutors who, based on their law enforcement experiences, absolutely and very publicly support legalizing marijuana.
So how do we talk to the police about marijuana legalization? First, here is what not to say. Don’t focus on tax revenues, racial disparities in arrest rates, how marijuana is ‘safer’ than alcohol, or how cops waste their time arresting marijuana users. Those arguments will most likely fall on deaf ears.
Most law enforcement officers who are against marijuana legalization oppose it because they are under the impression that the war on drugs is actually working and is somehow making society safer. They believe that if you legalize marijuana, society will become unsafe.
So, point out how prohibition is making cities and neighborhoods unsafe, and illustrate by politely stating facts the officer won’t be able to refute.
According to the state Board of Equalization, keeping marijuana illegal has created a $14 billion-a-year underground market in California alone. That criminal market regularly uses violence to solve business disputes. That same underground market has killed and injured countless numbers of law enforcement and innocent civilians since we first outlawed marijuana in 1937. If we chose to regulate and control marijuana we could shrink that criminal market drastically.
Most officers believe that marijuana legalization will increase children’s access. That can’t be farther from the truth. In the current illegal market it’s easier for kids to gain access to marijuana than it would be in a regulated market. Why? Because the neighborhood drug dealer doesn’t check ID. He doesn’t care how old your kids are; all that matters to him is if they have cash. And that’s why federal surveys show that teens generally have had an easier time obtaining illegal marijuana than obtaining legal and age-regulated alcohol.
In conclusion, remember when talking with officers about legalization to always be respectful of their opinions as well.
Some of the officers you will speak to have been ‘fighting’ in the drug war for decades. It’s not easy to get people to change their minds immediately, but planting a seed in a conversation now can go a long way toward getting them to look at this issue in a different light next time they catch someone with marijuana or find themselves in a voting booth to decide on a marijuana initiative.
ok someone please read this! I am a 20 year old male. my behavior in my community is perfect. no recorder, hell yeah. also, i have religious views that I shall never sell drugs (weed) to anyone, but i personally smoke weed. this is the real problem if I dont sell weed then I am buying weed at a very high price and I ACTUALLY HAVE TO WORK A REAL JOB TO MAKE THE MONEY TO BUY MY WEED! Im the nicest guy finishing last. I am broke know after working late nights while my old friends who never even finished high school are swimming in MY Money. this is wrong the police has created a strong black market. Marijuana grows for free and then drug dealers slap a price tag of $20 a gram. overpriced weed is what the police want so when they bust dealers they get that much more money, but wait who worked hard for that money. ME! Leave every person who lives a good life style to smoke free weed in peace. I must not be a normal stoner because unlike the stoners the government always talked about, i dont feel any more likely to try heroine. forget that idea. why would I smoke and then get any idea to try other drugs. let me finish with this ‘just say no’ is great for kids in school, but i’m an adult in the real world now, why do i have to hangout with dealers to get weed when i and every other adult who wants to smoke weed could easily get it at a food lion or a gas station, if it were legalized!
one more thing I really like the police. it sucks that they are the one who are looked at badly when the drug dealers are even worse. Please legalize weed so if one of you cops find me with weed i dont have to fear you I can respect you and help you when an if i can. I would like to grow not for profit but to save MY OWN FUCKING MONEY. I hate stoner culture. I love the police. but hate the police for the fear of them making me pay fines for smoking weed (really nothing at all). quick story- i saw a man drop $50-60 and he did not know it. i grab it and ran after the man who dropped it and gave it back to him. i felt like i did the right thing. i told me dealer (at the time) about what i did and he said wtf i would have kept the money. i though i bet you would you greedy fucking jew( sorry jews nothing against you guys)you take all my money no problem im sure you would have kept his too. in the end it all about money. sorry for the bad language and to the police please regulate it. i really want to be cool with you cops!