Pacifist pot minister Reverend Roger Christie has been 
Neill Franklin, the executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, will be in Hilo on Friday February 3rd, 2012.
The Big Island Chapter of Americans for Safe Access and the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii are pleased to be hosting this public event at the East Hawaii Cultural Center starting at 4:30pm.
LEAP is one of the leading organizations in the drug reform movement, and we are very fortunate to have someone of Neill’s stature visiting us in Hilo (see his bio below). This is a fantastic opportunity to hear a 34-year police veteran speak out on the futility of the “War on Drugs” and to hear his alternative solutions.
WHEN
Friday February 3rd
4:30 pm
WHERE
East Hawaii Cultural Center
141 Kalakaua Street Hilo, HI 96720-2807
(808) 961-5711
http://www.ehcc.org/
$3 suggested donation.
“It pains me to know that there is a solution for preventing tragedy and nothing is being done because of ignorance, stubbornness, unsubstantiated fear and greed.” –
Retired State Police Major and Executive Director of LEAP
Major Stanford “Neill” Franklin
Baltimore, Maryland
Major Neill Franklin is a 34-year law enforcement veteran of the Maryland State Police and Baltimore Police Department. During his time on the force, he held the position of commander for the Education and Training Division and the Bureau of Drug and Criminal Enforcement. Major Franklin instituted and oversaw the very first Domestic Violence Investigative Units for the Maryland State Police. After 23 years of dedicated service to the Maryland State Police, he was recruited in 2000 by the Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department to reconstruct and command Baltimore’s Education and Training Section.
Early in his career, Neill served as a narcotics agent with the Maryland State police, focusing on everything from high-level drug dealers in the Washington suburbs to the guy growing one marijuana plant on his balcony. Neill was proud of his work and the hundreds of arrests he executed. “I had been taught that the people who use and sell drugs are trash, and that we needed to put those people behind bars forever.”
But two people permanently changed his steadfast belief in fighting the drug war. The first was Kurt Schmoke, who declared while he was the sitting mayor of Baltimore that the drug war was not working. Schmoke explained that fighting a war on drugs was counterproductive and created excessive violence. This was a turning point for Neill, who began to research and evaluate his own experiences in law enforcement. “We worked in predominantly white areas, yet most of our cases and lock ups were minorities. There were very few cases in the outlying areas that involved whites,” he says.
Not long after Mayor Schmoke’s announcement, Neill’s close friend, Corporal Ed Toatley, was killed in Washington, DC while making a drug deal as an undercover agent. “When Ed was assassinated in October 2000, that is when I really made the turn. That’s when I decided to make my views public,” Neill explains.
When not working, Neill volunteers his time by serving on many boards that include Children 1st, the Faith Based Community Council on Law Enforcement and Intelligence, the Place of Grace Church, Anne Arundel Community College Criminal Justice Advisory Board, and board president for TurnAround, Inc. (domestic violence, sexual assault victim advocate providing counseling and shelter services). Major Franklin is married and has one son. He is also very active in his church, The Place of Grace, where he serves as a board member.
Right click and save as to download PDF files:
Neill Franklin Hilo event flier
Matt Rifkin, born and raised in New York City, and 20-year resident of Tokyo, Japan moved to the Big Island in 2003 to escape the concrete jungles and neon lights. Became interested in cannabis reform when seeing the vast difference between US and Canadian media coverage of the murder of four RCMPs in 2005. Became personally interested in solving the inter-island transportation issue after being threatened with arrest at Kona airport on Christmas Day 2007. Although living in Puna, Matt lives “on the grid” and while not vegan or vegetarian tries to eat non-GMO papaya and organic fruits as often as possible. |
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