Officers Punished for Supporting Drug Legalization

The New York Times has an interesting article about various officers – Border Patrol officers, probation officers, and other members of law enforcement – who have been punished in recent years for voicing dissent about the country’s draconian drug laws:

Mr. Franklin, the LEAP official, said it was natural that those on the front lines of enforcing drug laws would have strong views on them, either way. It was the death of a colleague at the hands of a drug dealer in 2000 that prompted Mr. Franklin, a veteran officer, to begin questioning the nation’s drug policies. Some of his colleagues, though, hit the streets even more aggressively, he said.

Dissent about the drug laws is suprisingly common among law enforcement. Many officers – especially veteran officers – are privately critical of the drug laws, but they know they’ll get in trouble, or lose their jobs or hurt their careers, but speaking out in public. So they continue to enforce the laws even if they believe they are absurd.