Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
I just received this e-mail from the Proposition 19 campaign. It’s not every day that you get to hear a former Chief of Police of a large metro area give his full support for marijuana legalization. Here is the e-mail pasted below:
In my 34 years as a law enforcement officer and the Chief of Police for Seattle, I learned firsthand that reforming our marijuana laws is a necessary step to solving the problems facing our communities.
Pledge to contribute
Prop 19 isn’t about creating the right to get high, or endorsing the use of marijuana. Instead, Prop 19 is about prioritizing our resources so we can meet the real problems that California faces, while respecting the rights of adults to make decisions free from government intrusion.
That’s why it’s so important we make our voices heard on September 13. That’s when grassroots supporters all across the country will contribute toward the Prop 19 campaign’s $50,000 grassroots money bomb.
As a veteran of law enforcement, I understand that waves of violent crime in the United States do not exist in a vacuum. Marijuana sales in the United States are the source of 60% of Mexican drug cartels’ profit, and the cartels use that money to subsidize more expensive drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, which would otherwise be more expensive due to transportation and production costs.
Any law that would help cut off 60% of the cartels’ revenue is one worth supporting. As with alcohol after prohibition, illicit substances lose their profitability in a legal and controlled market; as American gangsters lost their ability to challenge the government in the 1920s, so will the cartels become unable to challenge Mexican and American law enforcement after Prop 19 passes.
Marijuana is just as available as it has ever been, but the profits from its sale go directly to drug dealers and cartels. If Prop 19 becomes law, law enforcement could prioritize its resources to instead fight serious crimes, while profits are redirected to small businesses and the treasuries of cities and counties that need the funds the most.
When Californians head to the polls on November 2, I know that we will all stand together to legalize, control and tax cannabis.
Sincerely,
Norm Stamper
Fmr. Chief of Police, Seattle
