Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Encyclopedia
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is a non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

, international, educational organization comprising former and current police officers, government agents and other law enforcement agents who oppose the current War on Drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...

. LEAP was founded on March 16, 2002. It is modeled after Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Vietnam Veterans Against the War is a tax-exempt non-profit organization and corporation, originally created to oppose the Vietnam War. VVAW describes itself as a national veterans' organization that campaigns for peace, justice, and the rights of all United States military veterans...

, an organization which earned its credibility by utilizing speakers who had been on the frontlines of the war they later denounced. Incorporated on March 16, 2002, with five members, LEAP now claims to have more than 15,000 members but does not disclose how many of those are sworn law enforcement officers. There are 85 speakers living in thirty-eight different states in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and eight other countries. LEAP now has members in 86 countries.

Goals

The mission of LEAP is to reduce the multitude of harms resulting from fighting the War on Drugs and to lessen the rates of death, disease, crime, and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition.

LEAP has two primary goals:
  • To educate the public, the media and policymakers about the failure of current drug policy by presenting a true picture of the history, causes and effects of drug use and the elevated crime rates more properly related to drug prohibition than to drug pharmacology.
  • To restore the public's respect for law enforcement, which has been greatly diminished by its involvement in imposing drug prohibition.


LEAP's main strategy for accomplishing these goals is to create a constantly growing speakers bureau staffed with knowledgeable and articulate former drug-warriors who describe the impact of current drug policies on police/community relations, the safety of law enforcement officers and suspects, police corruption and misconduct, and the excessive financial and human costs associated with current drug polices.

Legalization vs. Decriminalization

LEAP is a drug law reform organization that believes legalized regulation is the only ethical and efficient way to undo the damage caused by the War on Drugs. Legalized regulation would result in a system in which the sale and distribution of drugs is regulated by a government body similar to the regulation of alcohol and tobacco, thereby inhibiting, and eventually removing, the criminal monopoly on the sale of current illicit drugs.

LEAP does support incremental change, which the organization believes ultimately betters the lives of United States citizens. LEAP has supported bills which would decriminalize up to one ounce of marijuana, legalize medical marijuana, and implement harm reduction strategies in communities. According to LEAP, their support for incremental change does not conflict with their stance on legalization because they see these steps as means to an end, not ends in themselves.

Membership

Membership in LEAP is open to anyone but only current or former members of law enforcement can be board members or public speakers for LEAP. LEAP has members and supporters across the United States and in fifty-six other countries.

Board of directors

LEAP’s Board of Directors is made up of Jack Cole
Jack A. Cole
Jack A. Cole is an American drug policy reform activist and retired police officer. He is the executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition ,...

, who retired as a lieutenant after 26 years in the New Jersey state police—14 years in their narcotic bureau; Jerry Cameron
Jerry Cameron
Jerry Cameron is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League.Cameron, a graduate of Ballard High School played three games for the Phoenix Inferno of the Major Indoor Soccer League during the 1981-1982 season. In 1984, Cameron played for F.C....

, a retired Chief of two Florida towns; Peter Christ, a retired police captain from Tonawanda, New York; John Gayder a currently serving police officer with a department in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Terry Nelson, a Federal Agent in Border Patrol, US Customs and Homeland Security; and Howard Wooldridge, a former police detective from a department in Michigan. Jack Cole is the executive director.

Speakers Bureau

All of LEAP's speakers are current or former drug-warriors. Police, parole, probation, and corrections officers, judges, prosecutors, prison wardens, and FBI and DEA agents participate in LEAP activities. LEAP speakers speak at rotary clubs, conferences, forums, and events on high school and college campuses which are often organized by chapters of Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Students for Sensible Drug Policy is an international non-profit advocacy and education organization based in Washington D.C., with offices in both Washington D.C. and San Francisco, CA...

.

Publicity

Twelve members of LEAP's Speakers Bureau were profiled in a documentary film titled Damage Done: The Drug War Odyssey directed by Connie Littlefield and produced by Ann Bernier and Ken Martin. The film first aired on Global TV in Canada in 2006.

On July 20, 2010, Executive Director Major Neill Franklin was interviewed by Free Market Mojo where he discussed the history of LEAP, its positions and Franklin's personal views on the American drug war.

Video

LEAP released a twelve minute promotional DVD to provide further insight into the organization's perspective and role in drug reform.

"Anyone concerned about the failure of our $69 billion-a-year War on Drugs should watch this 12-minute program. You will meet front line, ranking police officers who give us a devastating report on why it cannot work. It is a must-see for any journalist or public official dealing with this issue." -- Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...

.

See also

  • Students for Sensible Drug Policy
    Students for Sensible Drug Policy
    Students for Sensible Drug Policy is an international non-profit advocacy and education organization based in Washington D.C., with offices in both Washington D.C. and San Francisco, CA...

  • Prohibition
    Prohibition (drugs)
    The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent drug use. Prohibition of drugs has existed at various levels of government or other authority from the Middle Ages to the present....

  • War on Drugs
    War on Drugs
    The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...

  • Drug Policy Alliance
    Drug Policy Alliance
    The Drug Policy Alliance is a New York City-based non-profit organization, led by executive director Ethan Nadelmann, with the principal goal of ending the American "War on Drugs"...

  • Freedom of thought
    Freedom of thought
    Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints....

  • DrugWarRant
    DrugWarrant
    DrugWarRant is a website created by activist Peter Guither that specifically advocate the termination of War on Drugs in United States. It has a Bulletin Board System, a blog, and other functions, including a comprehensive guide to the Supreme Court case Gonzales v...

  • NORML
    National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (United States)
    The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is an American non-profit organization based in Washington, DC whose aim is to move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the legalization of non-medical marijuana in the United States so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is...

    (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK