Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
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| Abbreviation | LEAP |
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| Formation | March 16, 2002 |
| Type | NGO |
| Purpose | Opposing the War on Drugs |
| Headquarters | Medford, Massachusetts |
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Region served
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International |
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Membership
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100,000 members and supporters |
| Website | leap.cc |
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is a 501(c)3 non-profit, international, educational organization comprising former and current police officers, government agents and other law enforcement agents who oppose the current War on Drugs. LEAP was founded on March 16, 2002 by five police officers. It is modeled after Vietnam Veterans Against the War, an organization which earned its credibility by utilizing speakers who had been on the frontlines of the war they later denounced. LEAP now has more than 100,000 members and supporters, approximately 5,000 of whom are from law enforcement, though many choose to remain anonymous. There are 148 speakers living in thirty-five different states in the United States and sixteen other countries. As of January 2014 LEAP has members and supporters in 190 countries.
The mission of LEAP is to reduce the multitude of harms resulting from fighting the War on Drugs and to lessen the rates of death, disease, crime, and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition.
LEAP has two primary goals:
LEAP's main strategy for accomplishing these goals is to create a constantly growing speakers bureau staffed with knowledgeable and articulate former drug-warriors who describe the impact of current drug policies on police/community relations, the safety of law enforcement officers and suspects, police corruption and misconduct, and the excessive financial and human costs associated with current drug polices.
LEAP is a drug law reform organization that believes legalized regulation is the only ethical and efficient way to undo the damage caused by the War on Drugs. LEAP maintains that legalized regulation would result in a system in which the sale and distribution of drugs is regulated by a government body similar to the regulation of alcohol and tobacco, thereby inhibiting, and eventually removing, the criminal monopoly on the sale of current illicit drugs.
LEAP supports incremental change, which the organization believes ultimately betters the lives of United States citizens. LEAP has supported bills which would decriminalize up to one ounce of marijuana, legalize medical marijuana, and implement harm reduction strategies in communities and was instrumental in the passage of initiatives to legalize marijuana in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. According to LEAP, their support for incremental change does not conflict with their stance on legalization because they see these steps as means to an end, not ends in themselves.
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