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08/20/2003 Archived Entry: "Cop group comes out in favor of complete drug decriminalization"

COP GROUP COMES OUT IN FAVOR OF COMPLETE DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION:

Back at the precinct, Cole felt he had no choice but to include the Good Samaritan's name in his report. The Good Samaritan was duly charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin, a charge that carried the same penalty as distribution: up to seven years in jail. Cole was at the station when the Good Samaritan was brought in. He looked Cole in the eye and said, "Man, I was trying to be your friend."

"So yeah, that got to me," Cole says now, his voice seeming to break and going quiet. Speaking by phone from Boston, the 64-year-old Cole is explaining why he ultimately turned against the war on drugs. He says he came to realize that he liked many of the people he was turning in – liked them better than some of the people he was working for – and that his betrayal of them, rather than drugs, was what destroyed their lives.

Posted by Claire @ 06:58 PM CST
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