At least, so say many proponents of legalizing marijuana

Keeping marijuana an illegal substance does nothing more than help drug dealers recruit children into a culture that takes advantage of them and their vulnerability, a former undercover narcotics agent said.

Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), spent 34 years with the Maryland State Police working primarily in drug investigations. Franklin spoke earlier this month at a University of Oklahoma conference entitled, "The War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration: Myths and Realities."

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