Stamper, Norm 1/1/1997 - 31/12/2024
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1 US WA: PUB LTE: Vote To Legalize MarijuanaSun, 21 Oct 2012
Source:Island Gazette (NC) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:Washington Lines:37 Added:10/22/2012

Washington voters have an opportunity to end decades of harm caused by marijuana prohibition.

Study after study has confirmed that marijuana is safer than alcohol, healthier than tobacco. Yet we have arrested tens of thousands of Washingtonians for nonviolent, small-quantity marijuana offenses. Initiative 502 would legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and over.

I-502 does not promote marijuana use. Its aim is a different, far more promising approach to its control. The initiative preserves tough penalties for furnishing to minors, and for driving under the influence.

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2 US WA: OPED: Prohibition: A Parallel To Modern War On DrugsFri, 30 Sep 2011
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:Washington Lines:105 Added:10/01/2011

Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper Reflects on the Violent U.S. Experiment With Prohibition, As Depicted in Ken Burns' New PBS Documentary. He Argues There Is a Compelling Parallel Between The Damage Done by the 18th Amendment and the Current U.S. War on Drugs.

KEN Burns' new documentary on alcohol prohibition, premiering on PBS Sunday, reportedly begins with a Mark Twain quote: "It is the prohibition that makes anything precious."

As a retired police officer who worked to enforce today's prohibition - - the "war on drugs" - I think it's a lesson we would do well to remember.

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3 US: Drug Czar 'Too Busy' To Meet With Fellow CopsSun, 07 Aug 2011
Source:Huffington Post (US Web) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:United States Lines:119 Added:08/08/2011

Back in June, representatives of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a 40,000-member organization led by Executive Director Neill Franklin, marched from the National Press Club to the Office of National Drug Control Policy headquarters. Our mission: to hand-deliver a copy of our new report, "Ending the Drug War: A Dream Deferred," to the nation's drug czar.

We thought the 40th anniversary of President Nixon's famous declaration of the "war on drugs" would be a good time for reflection on what has been achieved -- or not -- over these past decades.

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4 US: PUB LTE: Exit Strategy For The Costly, Ineffective War OnSat, 18 Jun 2011
Source:Wall Street Journal (US) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:United States Lines:41 Added:06/18/2011

Messrs. Shultz and Volcker are right that the "war on drugs" is a colossal failure, but simply decriminalizing possession while leaving sales illegal, as they suggest as a possible way forward, is not the answer.

As long as there is no above-ground and regulated mechanism for consumers to acquire the drugs they seek, the cartels and gangs that profit from today's illegal trade will continue to thrive, ensuring grizzly violence in order to protect their share of the black market.

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5 US: Former Cop and Drug Warrior: Why I Turned Against The DrugSun, 12 Jun 2011
Source:AlterNet (US Web) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:United States Lines:85 Added:06/14/2011

For More Than Three Decades, I Watched the Drug War Destroy Values That, As a Cop, I Swore to Uphold.

It's not hard to explain why I morphed from drug warrior to drug policy reformer. I observed unnecessary suffering, justice gone wrong, and widespread corruption within policing. I witnessed the physical deterioration of whole neighborhoods--streets, homes, and schools made less safe.

And I saw myself and fellow police officers cast as the "bad guys" in the enforcement of drug laws.

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6 US WA: PUB LTE: Medical Marijuana Is A Good ThingThu, 09 Jun 2011
Source:Islands' Sounder, The (WA) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:Washington Lines:58 Added:06/09/2011

Efforts are underway to clarify and strengthen the state's 1998 medical marijuana law. This is a good thing, long overdue. But we ought not to forget why Washington, along with 15 other states, moved to legitimate the use of cannabis as medicine in the first place. And why 10 additional states are poised to do the same.

We all know someone who has struggled with intractable pain, or faced a terminal illness. Many of these patients cannot tolerate conventional "painkillers." They live narcotized lives, suffering a wide variety of side effects: itchiness, constipation, sleeplessness, waking up to drug hangovers, around-the-clock grogginess, overall impairment. Even when conventional narcotics relieve pain, many patients are concerned about becoming habituated or addicted to them.

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7 US: Web: Marijuana and the Democracy DisconnectSun, 20 Mar 2011
Source:Huffington Post (US Web) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:United States Lines:90 Added:03/20/2011

There is always a gap between what a political system stands for and the reality of everyday life under that system. Ours is government that ostensibly stands for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A government of, by, and for the people. Yet, when it comes to marijuana, democratic principles take a back seat to fear, ignorance, and political expediency.

Look at New York, Montana, and the federal government for recent examples of how governments ignore or actively subvert the will of the people.

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8 US WA: OPED: Time for a Real Shift in U.S. Drug PolicySun, 27 Feb 2011
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:Washington Lines:113 Added:02/26/2011

AS a retired police officer who worked for more than three decades to enforce our country's failed criminal-justice approach to drug policy, I was delighted to hear President Obama recently say, "We have to think more about drugs as a public-health problem."

The White House drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, who like me is a former Seattle police chief, followed up on his boss's comments, writing on Huffington Post, "We cannot arrest or incarcerate our way out of a problem this complex."

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9 US WA: PUB LTE: Bill Could Legalize, Regulate Marijuana UseWed, 23 Feb 2011
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:Washington Lines:44 Added:02/25/2011

A Solid and Sensible Case for Legalization

Thank you for making such a solid and sensible case for the legalization and regulation of marijuana ["Legalize marijuana," Opinion, Feb. 20].

As Seattle's police chief for six years, and as a law-enforcement officer for nearly three decades before that, I saw more than enough on the front lines of the drug war to convince me that it's time to end marijuana prohibition.

In addition to powerful economic and civil-rights arguments, marijuana legalization will allow law enforcement to focus on preventing and solving crimes against persons and property. Legalization will eliminate a huge, untaxed revenue source for gangs and cartels whose members never hesitate to use violence against each other, the police and innocent citizens in order to protect their illicit profits.

Our state's lawmakers have an opportunity to do the right thing locally while also taking a powerful leadership role in the national movement to end marijuana prohibition. For doubters and proponents alike, The Times' editorial should be required reading.

Norm Stamper, Eastsound

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10 US CA: Web: Why They FightThu, 28 Oct 2010
Source:Huffington Post (US Web) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:California Lines:75 Added:10/28/2010

The nation's drug war warriors (led by current and past DEA chiefs and drug czars) along with sideline apologists (timid politicians, blinkered editorialists), are resorting to a last-minute campaign of hair-afire hysterics in the effort to dissuade California's voters from voting Yes on Proposition 19. The initiative would, finally, sensibly, regulate, control and tax cannabis.

What's all the screeching about? The usual: marijuana is a gateway drug...law enforcement will not be able to detect or arrest people driving under its influence... employers will not be able to discipline or fire under-the-influence employees. Lies and red herrings, all. Also, they know Proposition 19 will pass if young, educated voters turn out.

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11 US CA: PUB LTE: Regarding 'Prop. 19: Vote Yes' And 'Prop. 19:Sat, 09 Oct 2010
Source:Union, The (Grass Valley, CA) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:California Lines:44 Added:10/10/2010

As a police officer who tried to enforce California's failed and costly marijuana laws for almost three decades, I read with interest the debate you published about Proposition 19. I'd like to add my support for legalization and regulation.

The author of the no-on-19 piece argued the initiative wouldn't hurt the violent cartels who control today's black market. But in reality Prop. 19 provides a means for taking a huge bite out of the lucrative bottom lines of these bloodthirsty thugs who make 65 to 70 percent of their profits from marijuana alone. Remember, we don't have any wine cartels or gangsters growing grapes in our national parks to undercut today's legal market for alcohol.

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12 US: Web: Pot Legalization in CA Polling Over 50%Mon, 04 Oct 2010
Source:AlterNet (US Web) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:United States Lines:79 Added:10/05/2010

Everyone From Former Law Officers to Single Parents and Young Adults Are Pushing for California to Legalize Pot This November.

A few short months ago, California's Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, seemed likely to fade away in a puff of smoke. After more than three decades on the front lines of the disastrous "war on drugs," I feared this best-hope-to-date chapter in the battle for sane drug laws was a lost cause. But something has changed in the public's consciousness, and in its resolve.

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13US CA: OPED: Prop. 19: Legalization Will Improve Public SafetySun, 03 Oct 2010
Source:San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:California Lines:Excerpt Added:10/03/2010

Let's face facts: Our laws criminalizing marijuana have been a huge failure. Proposition 19 on November's ballot is the perfect opportunity for California to get things right.

As law enforcement veterans who policed the beat in California and elsewhere for a combined total of 89 years, the three of us have witnessed firsthand the harm our marijuana laws are doing to our communities, and we know how badly reform is needed.

Every year California spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of police hours on the war against marijuana. What has this accomplished? Has it made our communities any safer? Has it done anything to control marijuana and keep it away from kids?

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14 US CA: All Hands on Deck for Prop 19Thu, 23 Sep 2010
Source:West Coast Leaf (CA) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:California Lines:75 Added:09/25/2010

2010 Election Commentary

This is the home stretch of the Prop.19 campaign. If California is going to make an historic decision to legalize marijuana for adults, every West Coast Leaf reader needs to help inform people, to vote, and to get others to vote Yes on 19 on Nov 2.

As a 34-year veteran police officer who speaks out against marijuana prohibition, I know how tough it can be to talk to people - even family and close friends - about why we need to regulate marijuana.

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15 US CA: PUB LTE: End Prohibition, CaliforniaThu, 26 Aug 2010
Source:San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:California Lines:40 Added:08/26/2010

Re "Legalizing is a dangerous choice" (Insight, Aug. 22): San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer claims that after marijuana is legalized, drug cartels will continue to profit from selling it. That's ridiculous.

As a former police chief myself (Seattle, 1994-2000), I'd respectfully like to ask Manheimer to show us the wine cartels that grow grapes in our national parks to compete with the legal and regulated alcohol industry.

Back here in reality, of course, we know that once America ended its failed experiment with alcohol prohibition, violent gangsters were no longer able to keep selling booze on the black market for a profit.

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16 US: Web: The Politics of Cannabis and ColorSat, 10 Jul 2010
Source:Huffington Post (US Web) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:United States Lines:119 Added:07/11/2010

Alice Huffman's explanation of the California NAACP's endorsement of Proposition 19, the state initiative calling for the regulated legalization and taxation of marijuana, was well reasoned and smartly put. But she was promptly pounced upon, smeared by a collection of out-of-touch, fear-mongering detractors, including "more than 20 African American religious and community leaders" headed by one Bishop Ron Allen.

Mr. Allen's statement was illogical, and insulting and condescending to the multitudes of African American civic leaders, including law enforcement officers and members of the clergy, who are working to end a drug war that has had devastating effects on communities of color.

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17 US: PUB LTE: Bad Laws Waste Resources, Do HarmFri, 09 Jul 2010
Source:Wall Street Journal (US) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:United States Lines:37 Added:07/09/2010

The article "Strapped Police Run on Fumes, and Federal Pot-Fighting Cash" (page one, July 3) reveals the extent to which our nation's failed marijuana laws skew police priorities. As a 34-year veteran cop, I personally arrested or oversaw the arrests of more people for marijuana possession than I care to remember. Not once did I see a single positive effect on either the individual or the community.

Setting aside federal and state grant money for marijuana eradication has done nothing to reduce the use of the drug. Instead, it has squandered scarce public resources and fueled violence.

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18 US: Web: SWAT and the Drug War: License To KillTue, 25 May 2010
Source:Huffington Post (US Web) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:United States Lines:119 Added:05/26/2010

As of this morning, over 1.2 million people have clicked on the YouTube video of the February 11 SWAT raid on a suspected drug dealer's home in a quiet suburban neighborhood of Columbia, Missouri. Produced by the police themselves, the video went viral soon after it was posted earlier this month.

It's a fair guess that many of those clicks represent individuals who, revolted by what they saw and heard (gunshots, the screaming of a wounded dog), abruptly stopped viewing the video. What happened to that Missouri family, a terrifying police paramilitary attack that left two dogs shot, one dead, and a couple and their seven-year-old boy in shock, is an all-too common occurrence across the country. It is also profoundly un-American.

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19 US CA: PUB LTE: Try Drug Abuse, PreventionFri, 30 Apr 2010
Source:Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, CA) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:California Lines:47 Added:05/02/2010

As a former San Diego cop and police executive who presided over marijuana law enforcement for three decades, I was intrigued by Thomas Elias's attempt ("Legalized pot not a panacea," April 24) to show that the problems surrounding our marijuana laws do "not constitute a situation anything like (alcohol) Prohibition."

In trying to articulate substantial differences between marijuana and alcohol prohibition, Elias dismisses obvious similarities - enormous tax-free profits and the boon to organized crime, among others - that are far more fundamental and relevant. His assertion that regulated marijuana "could bring to California the kind of drug wars that now plague Mexico and Colombia" is patently absurd. It flies in the face of the American experience after the end of alcohol prohibition. And it belies the contemporary experience of nations that have modernized their marijuana laws and achieved healthier, safer communities.

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20 US: Web: 420: Put Down That Joint and Pick Up a PenMon, 19 Apr 2010
Source:Huffington Post (US Web) Author:Stamper, Norm Area:United States Lines:98 Added:04/20/2010

A year ago I wrote a piece on 420, contrasting legalized booze and illicit pot. It generated a good deal of reader feedback. A common thread:

"The war against drugs is a money making business. Prisons are a money making business. How are you going to replace all those jobs for the DEA...prisons, prison officers, other suppliers?"

"This is America, people. Europeans are socially enlightened, we are not. Europeans are progressive, we are not...frustrating, sure, but it's not going to change in my lifetime..."

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