Law Enforcement Action Partnership

U.S.-based nonprofit organization

This article contains promotional content. Please help improve it by removing promotional language and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a neutral point of view. (June 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Law Enforcement Action PartnershipAbbreviation| LEAP

|

Established| 2002 (23 years ago)
Legal status| 501(c)(3) organization
Headquarters| Medford

The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization group of current and former police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals who use their expertise to advance drug policy and criminal justice solutions that enhance public safety. The organization is modeled after Vietnam Veterans Against the War. [1]

The organization transitioned from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition into the Law Enforcement Action Partnership in January 2017.[2] They previously focused on ending the War on Drugs[3][4] and now discuss a broad range of issues relating to policing and criminal justice - from procedural justice practices to reducing recidivism. Their overarching message is about reducing crime and violence and improving public safety, while the issues they discuss fall into five key areas: improving police-community relations, reducing and finding alternatives to incarceration, improving access to harm reduction services, ending the War on Drugs and global issues.[5]

## Goals

[edit]

LEAP works to educate law enforcement, legislators, and the public about ways to bring about positive change in the criminal justice system. They speak to civic clubs, international conferences,[6] and have been featured in many top U.S. media outlets.[7][8][9][10][11]

## 5 key issue areas

[edit]

### Police-Community Relations

[edit]

LEAP believes the key to improving police effectiveness is to go back to the fundamental principals of modern policing[12] laid down by Robert Peel and improve public safety by increasing police-community trust.

Speakers advocate for solutions including treating officers for post-traumatic stress disorder; expanding police training and pay; addressing racial disparities in the justice system; abolishing stop-and-frisk practices; limiting police militarization to active shooter, hostage, and barricade incidents; ending civil asset forfeiture; and abolishing volume-based performance measures such as arrest quotas.

### Incarceration

[edit]

The Law Enforcement Action Partnership advocates for alternatives to arrest and incarceration as a means of reducing crime. They support reducing the use of mandatory minimum sentences, increasing the use of effective pre-booking diversion programs, increasing the use of restorative justice conferences, reforming the money-bail system, and reforming parole and probation systems. The group aims to reduce collateral consequences caused by arrest and incarceration, reduce racial disparities in sentencing and punishment, and reduce felony disenfranchisement.[13]

### Harm Reduction

[edit]

LEAP supports harm reduction programs, which reduce the negative personal and societal consequences of drug use, including Supervised Injection Facilities, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), heroin-assisted treatment, Medication Assisted Treatment, syringe exchange programs, expanded naloxone access, and treatment on demand. Until 2020 LEAP was the fiscal sponsor for the Influence Foundation, which operates the harm reduction publication Filter.[14][15]

### The War on Drugs

[edit]

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition at the 8th National Harm Reduction Conference in Austin, Texas, in November 2010

LEAP pushes to end the War on Drugs and legalize and regulate all drugs from a public health perspective as a means of reducing death, disease, and addiction associated with drug use and illegal drug sales.[16]

### Global Issues

[edit]

The Law Enforcement Action Partnership is dedicated to studying international criminal justice issues and practical solutions. LEAP considers domestic and international drug policies and their disastrous consequences, including violent criminal organizations, widespread corruption, suppression of free press, immigration crises, and state-sanctioned killings of drug users and dealers. LEAP looks to countries including Switzerland and Portugal for pioneering innovative drug policies focused on public health and safety.

## Membership

[edit]

### Board of directors

[edit]

The Law Enforcement Action Partnership's executive board[17] is chaired by Lt. Diane Goldstein (Ret.) of the Redondo Beach Police Department in California. Board members include: Inge Fryklund, former Assistant State's Attorney in Chicago; Stephen Gutwillig, a professional nonprofit organizational development consultant; Jody David Armour, Professor of Law at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; executive director Maj. Neill Franklin (Ret.) of the Baltimore and Maryland State Police Departments; Capt. Leigh Maddox (Ret.) of the Maryland State Police; Allison Watson, former Assistant District Attorney in Knoxville, Tennessee; and Det. Sergeant Neil Woods (Ret.) of Derbyshire, England.

### Advisory board

[edit]

The advisory board of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition consists of Romesh Bhattacharji, former drug czar (India); Vince Cain, former Chief Coroner of British Columbia and retired RCMP chief superintendent (Canada); Senator Larry Campbell, former mayor of Vancouver and retired RCMP officer (Canada); retired Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Crispin (Australia), Member of Parliament Libby Davies (Canada); Carel Edwards, former anti-drug coordinator for the European Union; U.S. District Court Judge Warren William Eginton; Gustavo de Greiff, former attorney general of Colombia; Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico; Judge John L. Kane Jr., United States District Court for the District of Colorado; Justice Ketil Lund, retired Supreme Court Justice from Norway; Sheriff Bill Masters, Colorado; Joseph McNamara, retired police chief of the San Jose Police Department; Norm Stamper, retired police chief of the Seattle Police Department; Eric Sterling, president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation; Thomas P. Sullivan, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert W. Sweet, Senior Judge of the US District Court Southern District of New York; Hans van Dujin, retired Dutch police union president (the Netherlands); Francis Wilkinson, former Chief Constable of the Gwent Police Force (United Kingdom); and Justice C. Ross (Ret.), former British Columbia Supreme Court judge (Canada).[18]

### Speakers bureau

[edit]

Representatives of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership are trained to speak with audiences and media outlets on behalf of the organization. They include current and former/retired police officers, military police officers, judges,[19] prosecutors, prison wardens and other corrections officials, parole and probation officers, and FBI and DEA agents.[20]

### Activities

[edit]

### Media

[edit]

Each year, speakers conduct hundreds of interviews with outlets across the country, including AP, Newsweek,[21] BBC,[22] The Washington Post,[23] FOX News,[24] CNN,[25] The Atlantic,[26] The Intercept, Reason magazine,[27] The Hill,[28] The Guardian,[29] The Washington Times, The Los Angeles Times,[30] and others. They are regularly featured in documentaries, viral social media content, and local radio and TV segments.

### Events

[edit]

Representatives are regularly involved in speaking engagements in state legislatures and at press conferences, civic clubs, conferences and universities.

## Funding

[edit]

LEAP has received funding from tobacco companies.[31][32] In 2017 more than a third of its funding came from Reynolds American.[33]

## See also

[edit]

* Drug Policy Alliance
* DrugWarRant
* Freedom of thought
* NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)
* Prohibition
* Students for Sensible Drug Policy
* Doctors for Cannabis Regulation

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTION PARTNERSHIP, INC. - GuideStar Profile". www2.guidestar.org. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
2. ^ "Law Enforcement Against Prohibition". copssaylegalize.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
3. ^ "Police officers find that dissent on drug laws may come with a price". The New York Times. 2011-12-02. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
4. ^ "LEAP - Publications › LEAP Items › LEAP's Mission Statement". 2008-09-13. Archived from the original on 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
5. ^ "Who We Are | LEAP". Leap.cc. 2002-03-16. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
6. ^ "United Nations - Using Our Intelligence - Annie Machon". anniemachon.ch. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
7. ^ "Maj. Neill Franklin (Ret.) |". www.huffingtonpost.com. HuffPost. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
8. ^ "Former Police Chief Has A Plan For 'How To Fix America's Police'". NPR. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
9. ^ Law Enforcement Action Partnership (2014-03-04), Norm Stamper tells MSNBC about the corruption brought by the War on Drugs, archived from the original on 2014-03-11, retrieved 2017-11-27
10. ^ "Police Militarization in America - Norm Stamper - The Colbert Report". Comedy Central. 3 September 2014. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
11. ^ Law Enforcement Action Partnership (2013-08-19), LEAP's Neill Franklin on CNN, archived from the original on 2013-08-19, retrieved 2017-11-27
12. ^ "Fundamentals of Policing". Retrieved 2017-11-23.
13. ^ "Incarceration Nation: Events spotlight movement to end mass incarceration". The Brattleboro Reformer. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
14. ^ "The Influence Foundation". Tobacco Tactics.
15. ^ "About The Influence Foundation".
16. ^ Lopey, John (2016). "The journal of global drug policy and practice" (PDF). globaldrugpolicy.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-10. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
17. ^ "Meet the Board of Directors – Law Enforcement Action Partnership". lawenforcementactionpartnership.org. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
18. ^ "Advisory Board". lawenforcementactionpartnership.org. Retrieved 2017-11-27.[permanent dead link]
19. ^ Frieling, Leonard. "Pot is legal and sky hasn't fallen". CNN. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
20. ^ "Speakers – Law Enforcement Action Partnership". lawenforcementactionpartnership.org. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
21. ^ "The Former Top Cop Who Wants to Legalize Drugs". Newsweek. 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
22. ^ LEAP UK (2017-04-19), LEAP UK's Neil Woods on BBC Breakfast discussing 'spice', retrieved 2017-11-27
23. ^ Hicks, Josh (2016-02-05). "Maryland lawmaker calls for state to exit drug war, focus on treatment". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
24. ^ "Last-Minute Push for Prop 19 | On Air Videos |". Video.foxnews.com. Fox News. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
25. ^ "Cop Says Legal Marijuana Makes Communities Safer". YouTube. 2012-11-09. Archived from the original on 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
26. ^ Schiavenza, Matt. "New York City's Incomplete Marijuana Reform". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
27. ^ "Ex Top Cop: We Need a New Model of Policing". Reason.com. 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
28. ^ Jordan, Chuck (2016-07-26). "Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter are not mutually exclusive". The Hill. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
29. ^ Aitkenhead, Decca (2016-08-26). "'I've done really bad things': The undercover cop who abandoned the war on drugs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
30. ^ "Drug war takes a flying LEAP". Los Angeles Times. 2007-09-21. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
31. ^ "Biden criticized for failing to ban menthol cigarettes after Trump withdraws proposal". NBC News. January 29, 2025.
32. ^ Florko, Nicholas (November 17, 2022). "To gin up opposition to the proposed menthol ban, tobacco companies are turning to gas station ads". Stat.
33. ^ "Paid protesters, free lunches and backroom chats: Inside the menthol…". The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Cannabis

* Outline of cannabis
* Recreational and medical applications
* Industrial applications

General|

* Autoflowering cannabis
* Cannabis
* indica
* ruderalis
* sativa
* Chemical defenses in Cannabis
* Consumption
* Conversion of CBD to THC
* Cultivation
* Glossary
* Names (cannabis, dagga, ganja, marijuana, slang)
* Strains
* Synthetic cannabis

Usage|

| General|

* Cannabis use and trauma
* Medical cannabis
* Cannabis product testing
* History
* In the US
* Medical cannabis card
* Religious and spiritual use
* Chalice
* Drug testing
* Marijuana Anonymous

|

Hemp|

* Hanfparade
* List of hemp diseases
* List of hemp products
* hempcrete
* jewelry
* milk
* oil
* paper
* rolling paper
* List of hemp varieties
* Hemp for Victory
* Hemp Industries Association
* The Emperor Wears No Clothes

Variants|

* Cannabis edible
* Bhang
* Cannabis tea
* Cannabis smoking
* Joint
* Vaporizing
* Cannabis concentrate
* Essential oil
* Charas
* Hashish
* Hash oil
* Kief
* Tincture
* Marihuana prensada
* Phytocannabinoids
* Quasi-psychedelic
* delta-3-THC
* delta-4-THC
* delta-7-THC
* delta-8-THC
* delta-10-THC
* delta-11-THC
* THC
* THCB
* THCH
* THCP
* Other
* CBD
* CBDH
* CBDP

Effects|

* Amotivational syndrome
* Cannabis in pregnancy
* Cannabis use disorder (CUD)
* Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS)
* Clinical endocannabinoid deficiency syndrome
* Entourage effect
* Endocannabinoid system
* Impaired driving
* Time perception
* Long-term effects
* Occupational health concerns
* Medical cannabis research

Culture|

* 420
* Budtender
* Cannabis by country
* Cookbooks
* Etiquette
* Cannabis Social Club
* Head shop
* Books
* Cannabis Culture
* Columns
* Competitions
* List of cannabis hoaxes
* Films (Stoner film)
* High Times
* Music
* Religion
* Restaurants
* Sports
* Smoke-in
* Stoner TV
* Video games

Organizations|

| Cannabis rights|

* ACT
* ALCP
* AMMA
* ASA
* CAN
* CBN
* CLEAR
* CRC
* Dagga Couple
* DFCR
* DPA
* ENCOD
* FAAAT
* FCA
* GLM India
* GMM
* LEAP
* MAPS
* MPP
* NCIA
* NORML
* France
* NZ
* UK
* SAFER
* SCC
* SSDP
* VMCA

|

Science|

* IACM
* ICRS
* ICEERS

Demographics|

* Adult lifetime use by country
* Annual use by country

Politics|

| General|

* Activists
* Bootleggers and Baptists
* Cannabis rights
* Capital punishment for cannabis trafficking
* Centenary of Cannabis prohibition
* Effects of legalized cannabis
* Global Marijuana March
* Legality of cannabis
* Internationally
* Regulatory agencies
* 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
* Article 2 paragraph 9 on non-medical uses
* 1971 Vienna Convention on Psychotropic Substances
* 1998 UN Convention on Illicit Trafficking
* In the U.S.
* Legal history in the United States
* Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
* Timeline of cannabis law

|

Major legal
reforms|

* Treaty law: Rescheduling of cannabis in 2020
* Canada: 2018 Cannabis Act
* Germany: German cannabis control bill
* UK: Return to class B
* Uruguay: Law No. 19172
* US:
* Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the US
* Rescheduling per the Controlled Substances Act
* Hemp Farming Act of 2018

Politicians
and parties|

* Cannabis political parties
* of the US
* of Minnesota
* of Spain
* List of British politicians who have acknowledged cannabis use
* List of American politicians who have acknowledged cannabis use

Legal cases|

* Ker v. California (1963)
* Leary v. United States (1969)
* Kyllo v. United States (2001)
* Gonzales v. Raich (2005)
* ADPF 187 (2011)

Related|

* Drug liberalization
* Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cannabis industry
* Substances
* Cannabinoid receptor antagonist
* Endocannabinoid enhancer
* Endocannabinoid reuptake inhibitor

* Cannabis portal
* Category

* v
* t
* e

Drug policy interest groups (non-nicotine and non-alcohol)

General|

* Drug policy
* decriminalization
* prohibition
* Drug policy reform
* demand reduction
* harm reduction
* liberalization
* International drug control conventions
* 1961 Narcotic Drugs
* 1971 Psychotropic Substances
* 1988 Drug Trafficking
* Centenary of Cannabis prohibition
* Cannabis in the UK
* reclassification
* Cannabis in the US
* reclassification

Organisations
supporting
prohibition|

| North
America|

* International Narcotics Control Caucus
* Le Dain Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs
* Office of National Drug Control Policy
* Above the Influence
* Drug Abuse Resistance Education
* Smart Approaches to Marijuana
* War on drugs
* Winners Don't Use Drugs

|

Elsewhere|

* Anti-Narcotics Force
* United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs
* International Narcotics Control Board
* Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking
* Royal Commission of Inquiry into Drug Trafficking
* United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Organisations
supporting
legalisation or
harm reduction|

| Global|

* FAAAT think & do tank
* International Network for People who Use Drugs
* LEAP
* SSDP

|

North
America|

* ACT
* AAMC
* ASA
* CAN
* CRC
* CSMP
* DanceSafe
* DPA
* DrugWarRant
* High Times Freedom Fighters
* MPP
* Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition
* NCIA
* NORML
* November Coalition
* PoT
* SAER
* VMCA
* VANDU

Europe|

* British Legalise Cannabis Campaigns
* Cannabis Law Reform
* Drug Equality Alliance
* European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies
* Finnish Cannabis Association
* Metzineres
* NORML France
* NORML UK
* Release Drug Policy Foundation
* The Loop (Organisation)

Elsewhere|

* Cannabis and Hemp Association of Namibia (CHAN)
* Fields of Green for All
* Otago NORML
* NORML New Zealand

Cannabis
political parties|

| North
America|

* Bloc pot
* British Columbia Marijuana Party
* Freedom Party of Manitoba
* Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis Party
* Legal Marijuana Now Party
* Legalize Marijuana Party
* Marijuana Party (Canada)
* Marijuana Reform Party
* Saskatchewan Marijuana Party
* United States Marijuana Party

|

Elsewhere|

* Ale Yarok (Israel)
* Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (New Zealand)
* Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol (UK)
* Cannabis Party (Spain)
* Dagga Party (South Africa)
* Cannabis sans frontières [fr] (France)
* Legalise Cannabis Australia (Australia)
* Legalise Cannabis Queensland (Australia)
* Luz Verde (Spain)
* Representación Cannábica de Navarra (RCN-NOK) (Spain)

Research and
medical groups|

* Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics
* Beckley Foundation
* Drug Science
* Heffter Research Institute
* International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines
* International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service
* Lindesmith Center
* Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
* Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative
* San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club
* Society of Cannabis Clinicians
* Trans-European Drug Information network

Portal:

* Cannabis

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template