Perils of pot prohibition.

• Position: List - Proposition 19 of California would legalize cultivation and possession of marijuana for personal use - Brief article

California's Proposition 19 would legalize possession and cultivation of marijuana for personal use while allowing local governments to authorize and regulate commercial production and distribution, reason asked former San lose Police Chief Joseph D. McNamara, a 35-year police veteran who is now a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, for three reasons why Californians should vote yes on Prop. 19 in November.

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1 Marijuana prohibition is counter-productive to the mission of the police. Good policing wins public trust so that people are willing to report crime, come forth as witnesses, and believe police testimony when they sit on juries. The confrontational policing endemic to marijuana enforcement results in volatile stop, search, and frisk situations that often escalate into controversial...