Published LTE: WE WASTE LAW-ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES ON MARIJUANA PROHIBITION – Tucson Weekly

As a retired police detective working full-time in Washington, D.C., since 2006 to repeal federal marijuana prohibition, I appreciated your column on cannabis users ( Danehy, April 1 ).  Every hour spent chasing a Michael Phelps or Willie Nelson means we catch fewer DUIs and child molesters.  To arrest 800,000-odd persons for possession and sale, law enforcement spends a solid 10 million hours every year.  This is not funny.  This is a horrific waste of our time, and innocent citizens are hurt and killed as we chase Willie onto his back porch. 

My law-enforcement colleagues and, especially, their lobbyists here in D.C.  focus on paychecks and job security, not public safety, not crime levels, not victims of crime.  For the 800,000 cops in this country, this is all about money.  Ditto the prison guards. 

Howard Wooldridge

Drug policy specialist, Citizens Opposing Prohibition