Am I the only one that finds the term "Hash Tag" funny in the USA...the UK is accustomed to the term because "Pound" is a monatary term using a different symbol... Anyway, the first time I saw a L.E.A.P. representative was on Hannity on FAUX News Network One Police Officer came on there and, if only because he was kissing up to Hannity's far-Right core audiance, he said, "First thing I want to make clear is that the majority of marijuana users I've encountered are idiots...but my last straw was having a marijuana violator in my patrol car on the way to the detention center when we got an 'Officer Down' call. If you don't know, Bill, when a call like that goes out, every Agency in two or three counties throw jurisdiction out the window and dispatches marked, unmarked, detectives...everybody. Minor traffic offenders are sent on their way, meals are abandoned, it's ALL HANDS ON DECK...and I can't respond because I've got a minor marijuana user, who is going to be released on his own recognizance in a couple of hours and pay a small fine or get community service, in my car and I can't place him in harm's way OR let him go. I've got to take his butt in for a mug shot, finger prints and a court date he might never even have to appear for, and meanwhile there's an attempted cop-killer (the guy lived, but quit police work) on the loose and my addrenaline is off the freakin' charts. That was the day I realized Marijuana laws serve only to jam up guys who at the worst need to move out of their parents' basements and get a real job." So, still pandering a bit to the right-wing, pot-user-as-slacker mentality, but I'll take what I get.
LEAP is a great group. Years back they asked for people to CC letters to reps and such to them so they'd have a better idea of what we were doing, Jack Cole liked something I wrote and got back to me on it. Only exchanged a couple of letters with him but I did have several long exchanges with Mike Smithson, their old speakers bureau coordinator, as well as a single long talk with Peter Christ (rhymes with twist). The approach used by Peter was a lot like the one I was already using and he's probably my favorite speaker there. Never did really work with them though outside of a few conversations, I'd already done it myself long enough that I had a hard time adapting to the "part of a team" idea. Great guys though. I did post about them and in the interest of some things they support, fairly often. One thread which is long dead so I'm not worried about it being trolled (otherwise I wouldn't post it) is this one. Very off topic for this site since it deals with all drugs, but then again so does LEAP. They don't approve of use of any drug but they do accept that prohibition does more harm than good and it's time to explore regulation instead. http://videosift.com/video/Cops-say-legalize-drugs-ask-them-why
I really wish there would be more members of law enforcment who are brave enough to not tow the line when it comes to drugs. too bad so many are still brainwashed as hell.