The fundamental role of police officers has been to protect and serve.  The war on drugs is subverting that mission and current and former law enforcement officers are speaking up, see a small part of their statement below.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.LEAP.cc) is made up of current and former members of the law enforcement and criminal justice communities who are speaking out about the failures of our existing drug policies. Those policies have failed, and continue to fail, to effectively address the problems of drug abuse, especially the problems of juvenile drug use, the problems of addiction, and the problems of crime caused by the existence of a criminal black market in drugs.

Although those who speak publicly for LEAP are people from the law enforcement and criminal justice communities, a large number of our supporting members do not have such experience. You don't have to have law enforcement experience to join us.

By continuing to fight the so-called "War on Drugs", the US government has worsened these problems of society instead of alleviating them. A system of regulation and control of these substances (by the government, replacing the current system of control by the black market) would be a less harmful, less costly, more ethical and more effective public policy.

I ask you to start a discussion on this subject and ask this simple question. What is the ethical or moral justification we have for taking someone freedom away for consuming or possessing a substance like marijuana or any drug? Most of the time the answer is silence.  Sometimes the response is "they broke the law".  That is when I repeat the question stressing the moral and ethical justification.  If you have family or friends who are in law enforcement I urge you to have them check out why cops are saying legaliize drugs at LEAP's webpage www.leap.cc.