Pubdate: Wed, 03 Apr 2013
Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Copyright: 2013 The Oregonian
Contact:  http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
Author: Shelley Fox-Loken, Special to the Leader
Note: Shelley Fox-Loken is a retired Oregon corrections officer and member
of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of law enforcement
officials opposed to the war on drugs. She was to testify Tuesday in
favor of HB 3371 to the Oregon House Judiciary Committee.

RETIRED OREGON CORRECTIONS OFFICER MAKES A PUBLIC SAFETY ARGUMENT FOR
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA (GUEST COLUMN)

People are sometimes surprised to hear that someone who dedicated her
life to public safety would favor the legalization of marijuana.

But as someone who dedicated her life to promoting the public good,
not the conventional wisdom, I believe that law enforcement officers
are uniquely positioned to understand the harms that the prohibition
of marijuana has caused in this country, and that more of us believe
in legalization than feel comfortable stating so publicly.

Because marijuana is illegal, there are tremendous profits to be made
in its sale. This both incentivizes violence and ensures that our
efforts to prosecute our way into reduced drug use will fail, for
there are always more dealers willing to take the place of those
arrested. The prosecution of users has proved futile as well - despite
marijuana being illegal since 1937, the majority of Americans ages 18
to 64 have tried marijuana.

Most will suffer no ill consequences, eventually grow out of it, and
look back on their youthful indiscretions with a sly grin. But for
those who are prosecuted, there's no moving past it. Their criminal
record will forever haunt them. If the difference between those who
were prosecuted and those who were not were random, we would brand it
a cruel, ineffective system. But it's worse than random; it falls so
consistently along racial and economic lines, the criminalization of
marijuana should be a crime in itself.

In the meantime, violent crimes go unsolved as our police resources
are squandered on a consensual crime. Revenue that should go into
government coffers instead funds organized crime, creating mayhem both
here and south of the border. And those who do partake have no idea
what they're putting into their own bodies.

If instead, as House Bill 3371 proposes, Oregon chooses to legalize
marijuana, we could control who sells it, and more importantly, we
could control who buys it. We could restrict that sale to adults over
21 by taking the trade from the hands of criminals and putting it in
the hands of government-licensed vendors. We could control the purity
of what's sold. We could take a bite out of the funding of the street
gangs who terrorize our neighborhoods, and we could take a step toward
a more equitable justice system.

I worked in the criminal justice system for 17 years because I thought
that by doing so, I could make this state a little safer, make
people's lives a little better. In those years, I reluctantly realized
that the only way to do so was to challenge, rather than to quietly
uphold, our unjust laws on marijuana.

Today I ask you to stand with me in challenging these laws and in
seeking a smarter path. The voters of Colorado and Washington have
started this country down the path of legalization, but so far, no
legislature has been courageous enough to do it on their own. I would
be so proud and honored if Oregon was the first. Please urge your
legislators to support HB 3371.

Shelley Fox-Loken is a retired Oregon corrections officer and member
of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of law enforcement
officials opposed to the war on drugs. She was to testify Tuesday in
favor of HB 3371 to the Oregon House Judiciary Committee.
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