As the war on drugs continues apace with intractable rates of addiction and crowded prisons, Jack Cole has become one of the country?s top proponents for ending the war altogether.
A former undercover narcotics detective for the New Jersey State Police, Cole now heads Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
Cole recently agreed to testify before the Baltimore City Council at the request of Councilman Jack Young, who is introducing a resolution seeking a hearing to explore decriminalization.
The Examiner asked Cole about how to solve the nation?s drug crisis.
Given that you were an undercover narcotics officer for nearly 14 years, why did you decide that legalization is the way to go?
It?s too destructive.
Over 1,000 young people went to jail because of my work as an officer.
I can?t tell you how many of those people might have had a perfectly happy life if I hadn?t intervened.
Critics say decriminalization will lead to chaos on the streets and more people addicted to drugs. How do you respond?
The Netherlands decriminalized marijuana in 1986, and they did a survey in the late ?90s that discovered 28 percent of their 10th graders had used marijuana.
In the U.S. [that same year], they found 41 percent of our 10th graders had used it.
The drug czar in Holland, when asked why fewer people used it in a country where it is legal, gave an interesting answer: ?I think we?ve managed to make pot boring.?
You take exception even to the idea that we?re fighting a “war on drugs??”
It?s a horrible metaphor to use for policing in a democratic society. We have an enemy ? and it is us.
