An increasing number of current and former New Hampshire law enforcement officers are joining a Massachusetts-based nonprofit drug legalization organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), MSNBC reported Feb. 22.

Members of LEAP support drug-policy reform, contending that drug legalization would put the dealers out of business and allow the government to control the legal purchase of drugs. Over 130 current and former officers from New Hampshire have signed on with the organization.

But many in law enforcement disagree with LEAP's contention. "Police officers out on the street should be seeing the problems that come with drug abuse, especially with marijuana," said Richard Crate Jr., of the Enfield, NH police department. "The marijuana on the streets today is not the same marijuana that was on the streets 20 years ago," Crate added.

LEAP member Bradley Jardis, an Epping, NH police officer, said the government should control and regulate drugs. "We treat alcoholism as a public health problem, but we treat drug addiction as a criminal problem, and that's wrong," Jardis said.

Those in law enforcement opposed to the legalization of marijuana and other drugs insist that legalization would lead to more drug use and societal problems. "People need to look at longer-term effects," said Peter Morency, police chief in Berlin, NH who serves as chairman of the  New Hampshire Drug Task Force. "On the surface, they say this is no worse than alcohol, but look at the long-term effects and the potential cost to the state."

LEAP members said that legalization is the way to gain control of the situation. "We at LEAP understand very clearly through our experience that by legalizing the drugs, you eliminate the criminal element," said Rick Van Wickler, superintendent of the Cheshire County Department of Corrections. "We believe that a mission statement on drugs should be to reduce crime, death, disease and addiction."

LEAP, which began in 2002 with five founding members, now has more than 11,000 members in 90 countries.