Maine Organization Works to Legalize Marijuana in State
CHELSEA EAKIN
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Features
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Last week, retired police captain Peter Christ spoke at the College about what he sees as the failures of existing U.S. drug policy and the potential to regulate drugs through decriminalization. Christ visited the College as part of his 10-day tour through Maine, sponsored by the Maine Marijuana Policy Initiative (MMPI), an organization that works to legalize marijuana in the state of Maine. The talk was part of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement annual lecture series.
Christ spoke on behalf of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an organization founded in 2002 comprised of current and retired law enforcement officers who call for an end to drug prohibition by changing current drug policy. "We're not talking about making [drugs] available, we're talking about regulating and controlling their distribution," Christ said in his lecture. "Once we set policy, we forget it; we just move on, we don't rethink."
In his speech, Christ likened LEAP to Vietnam Veterans Against the War, a group of Vietnam veterans who spoke out against the war. "You don't have to agree with our conclusion about drug policy in this country, but don't even suggest that we don't understand the problem," Christ said. "We're the ones that fought in the trenches of this drug war; we kind of understand the problem."
Jonathan Leavitt, executive director of MMPI, said Christ's tour had been a success. "He spoke to numerous civic groups, universities, churches. He spoke on numerous radio shows, we got him on cable in three dozen towns...and a ton of newspaper articles got written up," Leavitt said. "It was the right discussion to do and hopefully will lead people back to our work."
MMPI is a young organization, "We started work back in April of last year and are here to end marijuana prohibition in Maine. That is our goal and that is what we intend to do," Leavitt said. "We want to make reality out of a system of community regulation, on par with alcohol or something like that."
Christ spoke on behalf of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an organization founded in 2002 comprised of current and retired law enforcement officers who call for an end to drug prohibition by changing current drug policy. "We're not talking about making [drugs] available, we're talking about regulating and controlling their distribution," Christ said in his lecture. "Once we set policy, we forget it; we just move on, we don't rethink."
In his speech, Christ likened LEAP to Vietnam Veterans Against the War, a group of Vietnam veterans who spoke out against the war. "You don't have to agree with our conclusion about drug policy in this country, but don't even suggest that we don't understand the problem," Christ said. "We're the ones that fought in the trenches of this drug war; we kind of understand the problem."
Jonathan Leavitt, executive director of MMPI, said Christ's tour had been a success. "He spoke to numerous civic groups, universities, churches. He spoke on numerous radio shows, we got him on cable in three dozen towns...and a ton of newspaper articles got written up," Leavitt said. "It was the right discussion to do and hopefully will lead people back to our work."
MMPI is a young organization, "We started work back in April of last year and are here to end marijuana prohibition in Maine. That is our goal and that is what we intend to do," Leavitt said. "We want to make reality out of a system of community regulation, on par with alcohol or something like that."
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