You don’t have to search for long to find news of cops arresting some unlucky bloke for marijuana possession. And while there surely are hardened cops that could back off from targeting minorities, it’s easy to forget that these officers are often following laws that our elected politicians enacted. In reality, many of these officers may not agree with the criminalization of pot and the arrests they may have been pressured to make.
While active police officers may not feel comfortable talking publicly about their views, retired officers can say whatever they please. MERRY JANE News reached out to retired NYPD lieutenant, Joanne Naughton. When she was active in the NYPD, Naughton held many positions, one of them as an undercover agent in the narcotics unit. Today, she is a public defender helping the very people she used to arrest. Naughton is also part of the non-profit group, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, which includes former and current police officers that oppose the War on Drugs.
Now that she has hung up her badge, she shares her unfiltered thoughts on the drug crisis, the cannabis and narcotics laws she once helped enforce, and what finally made her change her mind with us.
You’ll likely be surprised at what she has to say—check it out in the video above.
