Stories by Norm Stamper
Norm Stamper is former chief of the Seattle Police Department, and an advisory board member of NORML and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). He is the author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing (Nation Books, 2005).
Posted on Nov 17, 2011, Source: YES! Magazine
The police chief who oversaw Seattle's crackdown on WTO protesters learned the dangers of militarization.
Posted on Nov 11, 2011, Source: AlterNet
There are more than 50,000 police paramilitary raids in the US each year – more than 130 every day. Virtually all are for prosecution of drug warrants.
Posted on Jun 12, 2011, Source: YES! Magazine
For more than three decades, I watched the drug war destroy values that, as a cop, I swore to uphold.
Posted on Oct 4, 2010, Source: AlterNet
Everyone from former law officers to single parents and young adults are pushing for California to legalize pot this November.
Posted on Dec 14, 2009, Source: AlterNet
A new poll shows that most Americans are ready to legalize marijuana, but not drugs like cocaine or heroin. A 34-year police vet says it's time to legalize them all.
Posted on Apr 22, 2009, Source: Huffington Post
Marijuana smokers show greater responsibility in their choice of drugs than those of us who choose (and abuse) alcohol.
Posted on Mar 11, 2009, Source: Huffington Post
Forty-three years ago I was an idealistic 21-year-old uninterested in punishing people. So why did I abuse those I'd been hired to serve?
Posted on Jul 28, 2006, Source: AlterNet
If Steven Soderbergh's gritty 2000 film "Traffic" caused you to squirm in your seat, the real-life story of Mexican drug dealing is even more disquieting.
Posted on Oct 20, 2005, Source: AlterNet
A former police chief espouses his controversial views on drug laws -- namely, that we shouldn't have any.
Posted on Jun 15, 2005, Source: AlterNet
In an excerpt from his new book, 'Breaking Rank,' a former police chief describes how America is losing its fight against drugs -- and why we should consider decriminalization.
