A question advocating marijuana legalization from a retired LAPD deputy chief of police won twice as many votes as any other video question in the White House’s “Your Interview with the President” competition on YouTube this weekend. President Obama is slated to answer some of the top-voted questions on Monday. The marijuana question was submitted by Stephen Downing, a board member for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). LEAP, of which I am a member, comprises current and former members of the law enforcement and criminal justice communities who are speaking out on the failures of our existing drug policies. Those policies have failed, and continue to fail, to effectively address the problems of drug abuse, especially the problems of juvenile drug use, the problems of addiction, and the problems of crime caused by the existence of a criminal black market in drugs.

For more on the Gallup poll cited by Chief Downing, go here — Record-high 50% of Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana Use. (Graph after the jump.)

We will report on the President’s response.

Tags: drug prohibition, LEAP

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