Taking the L.E.A.P.

I’m writing about Marsha V. Hammond’s thoughtful column “Am I my brother’s keeper?” [Commentary, Feb. 21].

Unfortunately, the common-sense solution to Ashville’s crime and drug problem lies in Washington, D.C.—not Asheville or any other city or town in the United States.

Since the vast majority of all of our violent crime and property crime is caused by not drugs themselves, but rather our drug-prohibition policies, the common-sense solution is to re-legalize all of our now illegal drugs. Then the drugs can be sold in legal, regulated and licensed business establishments.

Then drug dealers as we know them today will disappear for economic reasons. Then our so-called “drug-related crime” will be in our past—not our future.

Most people currently employed in law enforcement are against re-legalization of our now illegal drugs. That’s because we would need far fewer law-enforcement personnel if all drugs were re-legalized.

However, there is one organization made up of law-enforcement personnel who favor the re-legalization of all drugs despite the fact that it’s against their own economic self-interest to do so. That organization is called L.E.A.P. (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition).

L.E.A.P. now has over 6,500 members and supporters. Most are current or former law-enforcement personnel, judges and prosecutors who have first-hand experience that our so-called war on drugs is counterproductive and not winnable.

I suggest the readers visit the L.E.A.P. Web site at: www.leap.cc.

Then arrange for a speaker from L.E.A.P. to give an informative and entertaining talk about our current and past drug policies to any organization or group. Most will arrive at the L.E.A.P. talk skeptical—most will leave convinced. Convinced that we must make major changes to our nation’s drug policies.