Pubdate: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 Source: Ogdensburg Journal/Advance News (NY) Copyright: 2003 St. Lawrence County Newspapers Corp Contact: P.O. Box 409, Ogdensburg, New York 13669 Website: http://www.ogd.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/689 Author: Stephen Heath Note: Accepts LTEs by mail only! Must be signed w/phone# Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1462/a02.html POT PLAN To the editor: Regardless of the level of THC content the seized plants contain, the urgent question is raised: Why are your police still wasting taxpayer dollars by creating huge task forces solely aimed at digging up alleged pot plants? Any law enforcement officer with integrity will acknowledge that no matter how many illegal plants they discover and uproot, there's no one in New York - or anywhere else - who wants marijuana that can't get it. That goes for adults and teens alike. If the motivation is to reduce use of pot, public dollars should be directed to educating about the perceived risks associated with using it. In no way does giving someone a criminal record and time in a jail cell result in a reduction in use. No matter how many people we cage - and we currently arrest almost 2000 people daily in the U.S. for simple possession - marijuana use will remain constant for those who want it. Meanwhile, valuable police officer resources are wasted on paying officers to take helicopter rides. Fortunately, there's a growing group of police officers and judges who believe the answer is to end the sillyness of criminalizing responsible adult marijuana use. They have organized as a group called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). Perhaps it's time Sheriff Jarvis and his cadre of pot warriors join us at LEAP and stop ripping off taxpayers with supposed attempts to make New York "marijuana-free", when everyone who isn't a paid drug warrior realizes what a scam they're pulling. Stephen Heath, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition http://leap.cc Florida Office, Clearwater FL. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin