A former Colorado Municipal Judge who’s a member of the group Law Enforcement against prohibition wants Wyoming to change its drug laws.
Lenny Freiling says that Wyoming spent more than 12 million dollars enforcing laws against marijuana in 2008. He says a better approach is to legalize marijuana like Colorado has. Freiling says one huge downside concerning the war on drugs is the long term impact it can have on someone who takes drugs.
“The reality is that many people can overcome an addiction, but they can’t overcome a conviction. So we take a nasty health problem and turn it into a nasty health problem with a criminal problem.”
Freiling says having the government control marijuana has a number of benefits and things such as substance abuse can still be dealt with. He says in Colorado the government will now regulate marijuana like it does alcohol.
If the government control works the way I truly believe it will, the experimentation with youngsters will not significantly increase. It will be more difficult for them to get, because the black market will not be as robust and if somewhere over 21 wants to try a joint, that’s where the education piece comes in, so that they do it in a manner that is safe.
Freiling says the war on drugs has not worked.