Who among us has not had this happen to them? You bring a prisoner to the station but before you enter the holding area, you have to secure your weapon in a gun locker. You then begin the booking process, check for warrants, start the report etc.  All of a sudden you hear, "Code 33! Unit needs backup!" on the radio.

The current and former White House drug czars unwittingly reveal the profound weakness of the case for continuing marijuana prohibition by relying on tired "reefer madness" hyperbole. As law enforcement veterans with a combined 68 years of police experience, we'd like to outline the many compelling reasons to support legalizing and regulating marijuana through measures like California's Proposition 19. The bottom line is straightforward: Proposition 19 is not about the right to get high. It's about public safety. We are just two of the growing number of law enforcement professionals who understand that it's prohibition that causes just about all our problems with marijuana - not the plant itself.

Californians will face an important decision in November when they vote on whether to legalize marijuana. Proponents of Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, rely on two main arguments: that legalizing and taxing marijuana would generate much-needed revenue, and that legalization would allow law enforcement to focus on other crimes. As experts in the field of drug policy, policing, prevention, education and treatment, we can report that neither of these claims withstand scrutiny. No country in the world has legalized marijuana to the extent envisioned by Proposition 19, so it is impossible to predict precisely the consequences of wholesale legalization.

According to a recent story by CBS, several people in Maryland are facing felony charges for recording their arrests on camera. Others say they have been intimidated to shut their cameras off. As a result something of a legal controversy has sprung up. As is usually the case with electronic recording and law enforcement issues, the main issue is whether a given incident occurred in a one-party state or a two-party state.