Pubdate: Thu, 03 Apr 2014
Source: Chico News & Review, The (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Garry Cooper
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.com/chico/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/559
Author: Garry Cooper
Note: 2 of 2 PUB LTEs

WHY THE DRUG WAR GOES ON

Our police/prison industry unions should be banned from lobbying and
influencing our public policy. The police/prison lobby has grown to a
point where they are imposing policy upon us with total disregard for
what is good for our country.

I do not believe that individual officers are evil and unneeded. I
believe their over-reaching unions are evil, as does the
100,000-member-strong Police Officers Against Prohibition.

Half of the police/prison industry funding comes from the drug war. We
all know that it is a complete failure, except for growing a police
industry that rivals all three branches of our military in size. We
know that the black market in drugs funds nearly 100 percent of gang
activity and the cartels. We know that branding our youth with
felonies for drugs and affecting their life-long employment is
counterproductive. But, we are helpless to end this drug war due to
the massive influence of police/prison industry money in our political
arena.

Had the police/prison lobby accepted America's changed stance on pot
and other drugs, we would have sanity in the growing of pot and not
rampant gangs and cartels. Don't you think we can make our own policy
without police control?

Garry Cooper

Durham 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D