Free Republic

A state lawmaker from Houston wants to change the punishment for possession of marijuana. Right now it's a Class B misdemeanor in Texas, punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000 and/or confinement for a maximum of 180 days. Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston has written a bill that makes possession of less than an ounce of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor. It would also be the equivalent of a traffic ticket. "You wouldn't lose your drivers license, you don't lose any of these other things that you do in a Class B setting," Dutton said. Dutton doesn't condone marijuana use,...

After fighting the war on drugs for nearly 30 years, Lt. Jack Cole is ready to admit defeat. The retired New Jersey State Police detective -- who spent 12 years as an undercover narcotics officer -- spearheads a movement to legalize all narcotics as a way of ending the bloody, expensive war. "The war on drugs was, is and always will be a dismal failure," said Mr. Cole yesterday to a meeting of the Fairhaven Rotary Club. Mr. Cole is one of the founders of an international nonprofit group called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition -- LEAP. That group, which includes...