Did anybody bother to read the transcripts I posted? Kerlikowske is far from providing an answer to the problems with Prohibition. He seems to be in favor of prioritizing enforcement resources but his comments clearly state he is not supportive of legalization and they also lead me to believe that he also does not favor decriminalization.
Here is a very important part of the interview:
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Quote:
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Do you support legalization?
No. I've never advocated legalization and certainly the president has made it clear that's his position.
Where did the perception come from that you are permissive in drug enforcement?
The perception is that Seattle is this very tolerant city, but when I talk to my colleagues around the country and they look at what are your resources for law enforcement, targeting adults for small, personal amounts of marijuana, it isn't high on the radar screen when you have X amount of bodies. You can look at most prosecutors across the country and they have filing standards. Police departments aren't going to say no, don't arrest, but are you going to take an officer off the street for four hours or are they going to choose to take themselves off the street for four hours to book somebody for a small amount of marijuana? It's less about tolerance.
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Kerlikowske comes from a city that decided to lower cannabis as a police priority. Kerlikowske obliged but did not support the decision. He gives lip service to the terms "health issue" and "treatment" which are much needed changes in policy but the means of actualizing those changes on a federal level will prove difficult.
We must fight on.