Former Seattle police chief says he never expected to see legal pot in his lifetime

Norm Stamper has been a long-time advocate of legalizing marijuana. But despite his efforts, the former Seattle police chief says he never expected to see it happen in his lifetime.

Stamper serves as an advisory board member of the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He tells KIRO Radio he’s very satisfied with the way the state has handled regulation since I-502 passed in November 2012.

“Needless to say, I’ve been surprised and impressed that things have moved so quickly and I think generally in such an intelligent and orderly fashion,” he says.

Stamper has argued in numerous books and op-ed pieces that marijuana is actually safer than alcohol, saying alcohol frequently fuels violent behavior and crime, whereas there is no known link between marijuana use and violent crime. He says it’s clear a majority of Americans agree.

“The American people literally across the country have said the drug war has been a failure, that prohibition simply does not work because it cannot work,” he says.

Stamper says it is almost a certainty some things will need to be “tweaked” in Washington over the coming months and years. He says the biggest priority needs to remain keeping pot out of the hands of young people as much as possible.

“We know that brain development, childhood growth and reasoning powers and the like are really affected by any kind of psycho-physical substance,” he says. “We know that it’s not safe. We know that it’s not healthy for young people to consume it. One of the things that regulation provides is greater restriction of access to marijuana by young people.”

Still, he admits there’s no way to completely keep marijuana from young people, and says the responsibility lies with parents and other adults as much as law enforcement and government.

“It’s a very distinct moral responsibility that I think grownups have to keep marijuana out of the hands of kids,” he says.

While Washington and Colorado are the first to legalize recreational pot and will be watched closely, Stamper predicts now that the ball is rolling, marijuana will ultimately become legal nationwide, albeit in fits and starts as states and the federal government wrestle with all of the issues.

He says it’s clear the public prefers the “imperfect hands of government” controlling the market over the “hands of drug cartels and street dealers.”