Let those dopers be

LA Times ^ | October 16, 2005 | Norm Stamper

[neverdem]

BEHIND BARS

A former police chief wants to end a losing war by legalizing pot, coke, meth and other drugs

SOMETIMES PEOPLE in law enforcement will hear it whispered that I'm a former cop who favors decriminalization of marijuana laws, and they'll approach me the way they might a traitor or snitch. So let me set the record straight.

Yes, I was a cop for 34 years, the last six of which I spent as chief of Seattle's police department.

But no, I don't favor decriminalization. I favor legalization, and not just of pot but of all drugs, including heroin, cocaine, meth, psychotropics, mushrooms and LSD.

Decriminalization, as my colleagues in the drug reform movement hasten to inform me, takes the crime out of using drugs but continues to classify possession and use as a public offense, punishable by fines.

I've never understood why adults shouldn't enjoy the same right to use verboten drugs as they have to suck on a Marlboro or knock back a scotch and water.

Prohibition of alcohol fell flat on its face. The prohibition of other drugs rests on an equally wobbly foundation. Not until we choose to frame responsible drug use — not an oxymoron in my dictionary — as a civil liberty will we be able to recognize the abuse of drugs, including alcohol, for what it is: a medical, not a criminal, matter.

As a cop, I bore witness to the multiple lunacies of the "war on drugs." Lasting far longer than any other of our national conflicts, the drug war has been prosecuted with equal vigor by Republican and Democratic administrations, with one president after another — Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush — delivering sanctimonious sermons, squandering vast sums of taxpayer money and cheerleading law enforcers from the safety...

[neverdem]

Norm Stamper is the former chief of the Seattle Police Department. He is the author of "Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing" (Nation Books, 2005).

The war on guns: Joel Miller explains how drug cops are killing 2nd Amendment

Connecting the War on Guns & Drugs [my title]

Remember, it's for the children!

[Andy from Beaverton]

This guy sounds anti-pharmacist.

[Smogger]

His proposals are far to reasonable to ever be implemented.

[inquest]

Before the flamefest gets going, I just want to throw in my two cents: Whether or not to end the WOD completely is still a debatable question, but the federal government needs to get out of it, except when it comes to stopping it from crossing the borders. Purely intrastate transactions are purely state business, not federal.

[There You Go Again]

I used to be a prosecutor. I have to say, the "war on drugs" is just another government boondoggle. Fact is, you have a bunch of rich people on the north side of Chicago who dope themselves up on erection drugs and all sorts of feel good medication that I can't even spell. But, you have a bunch of bums on the south side of Chicago who dope themselves up on cocaine etc. and they are "druggies" and must be put in jail. So silly. Gang, you can't legislate this anymore than you can legislate laziness. We have to create a culture that penalizes out of wedlock births and drug use etc. (By not giving these people government handouts etc.) Anyhow, much like our other government boondoggle (education), this "war" is just one huge waste of money.....

[GovernmentShrinker]

Fine. Let them use whatever they want, if they're over 18, but only if they first obtain a permit. As a condition for getting the permit, they must provide DNA and fingerprint for identifcation, and that identification will be used to ensure that they never get one cent of taxpayer money. No medical care, no food stamps, no housing subsidies, no public education -- nothing. If they're dragged into an emergency room with an overdose, just stick them in a "pending" room next to the morgue. Same should apply to alcohol, which is no less a drug than all the stuff that's currently illegal -- drink yourself into liver failure or into a horrrible car crash, you're on your own. And no using "I was too drunk or drugged to realize what I was doing" as a defense for crimes they commit. And ONE instance of abuse or neglect of a child should result in immediate sterilization. I'm all for liberty, but I am not willing to pay the bills for people who exercise their liberty with profound stupidity.

[Prime Choice]

I would agree to full legalization of every illicit drug if the users would sign a legally-binding document clearly stating that they revoke any claim that either society or the government has any obligation to pick up the pieces of their ruined lives when they're done polluting their bodies and their minds.

If one dances, one must pay the piper.

[Horatio Gates]

I've heard many good arguments for legalization of narcotics. However, some of the things Stamper did at SPD leads me to think he may have been nipping at some of those drugs. (/s)

[Prime Choice]

Right on! BTTT!

[corkoman]

It will take more law enforcement folks like this to stand up and proclaim the obvious to make a real impact.

There should NOT, however, be free access to antibiotics and antivirals. These have a public health impact in which resistance and superbug development has the potential to affect lots of folks.

[Zeroisanumber]

Legalize it, tax the hell out of it, use the tax money to pay for drug treatment programs and to amieliorate the social ills that will come with increased drug use.

The most successful anti-drug program that America has ever had was under Nixon when he used 90% of the anti-drug allocation for treatment and only 10% for interdiction.

[Pearls Before Swine]

No benefits... no taxes, OK?

[FlingWingFlyer]

"By not giving these people government handouts etc."

By legalizing drug use, we will make these addicts eligible to receive welfare benefits that a drug convictions now makes them ineligible to receive. If we legalize the use of crystal meth, the taxpayers can help kill these people off by providing them with the money they need to buy their drug of choice. The violence and damage caused by meth users should help pick up the slack and free time that law enforcement officers will have by not having to participate in the war on drugs.

[corkoman]

I would agree to full legalization of every illicit drug if the users would sign a legally-binding document clearly stating that they revoke any claim that either society or the government has any obligation to pick up the pieces of their ruined lives when they're done polluting their bodies and their minds. If one dances, one must pay the piper.

This is a very important point - like paying out-of-pocket for emergency services and hospitalization if bad things happen when they use things they don't understand.

This is what those of use derided as loony libertarians (I probably qualify as such) claim as a primary conservative tenet - that we should be responsible for ourselves and with this responsibility comes the freedom of having some vicodin in our medicine cabinets to use whenever we decide it is needed. The MD witch hunt here in south florida has created a situation where you have to be bleeding from the ears before you can get a milligram of codeine.

[sittnick]

Before we legalize over the counter heroin, why not legalize over the counter penicillin, Tylenol 3, etc. In other words, if the principal is "you can put whatever you want in your own body," why not start with non-lethal (when used properly), non-addictive prescription medications? Why does always go right to meth and crack?

By the way, one can be against both legalization and the "War on Drugs." Recognizing that certain behaviour is not easily stamped out does not require making it legal or going military over it. (sort of like we dealt with these things in the '50s)

[WhiteGuy]

"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."

[airborne]

Yes, I was a cop for 34 years, the last six of which I spent as chief of Seattle's police department.

But no, I don't favor decriminalization. I favor legalization, and not just of pot but of all drugs, including heroin, cocaine, meth, psychotropics, mushrooms and LSD.

Reasonable? Not to me.

[corkoman]

By legalizing drug use, we will make these addicts eligible to receive welfare benefits that a drug convictions now makes them ineligible to receive. If we legalize the use of crystal meth, the taxpayers can help kill these people off by providing them with the money they need to buy their drug of choice. The violence and damage caused by meth users should help pick up the slack and free time that law enforcement officers will have by not having to participate in the war on drugs.

No. Your premise is wrong. If legal there will be no more financial incentive for all these methlabs. Without a black-market the gun runners lose their clients. No more turf wars and drug gangs will have to find other business models.

The legal stuff will be cheaper and quality-controlled so whatever junk is in the blakc market stuff is no longer an issue.

Will morons use it excessively and get sick? Absolutely just as it is now. But without the legal stigma there will be much greater opportunity to get treatment so that unfortunate folks can LEARN how to live drug-free. When an abuser gets some skills and knowledge then its all up to them - use soem discipline or perish. Its a darwinian thing.

[Moonman62]

I used to be a prosecutor. I have to say, the "war on drugs" is just another government boondoggle.

Since you want to make a point of your personal creditentials, what do you do now? Do you smoke dope, or use any other illegal drugs?

It's too bad we can't get such answers from the police chief.

[FastCoyote]

"I'm all for liberty, but I am not willing to pay the bills for people who exercise their liberty with profound stupidity."

That's actually a cogent proposal I've not seen before. Let people sign themselves out of the system - no free medical care or support if they use drugs. You know, that makes a lot of sense. Kids couldn't sign, but there's no reason an adult shouldn't be able to sign a waver for self inflicted acts.