Is the War on Drugs Helping or Harming? Brian Leininger
Wednesday, 06 Nov 2013 at 7:00 pm – Sun Room, Memorial Union
Attorney Brian Leininger speaks on behalf of LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an organization that represents members of the law enforcement and criminal justice communities who believe current drug policies fail to effectively address the problems of drug abuse and related crimes. Leininger has served as an assistant district attorney in Kansas City and as General Legal Counsel to the Kansas Highway Patrol. He is a criminal defense lawyer and member of the Legal Committee of NORML, a national organization working to legalize the responsible use of marijuana.We often hear that drug dealers are attracted to the trade because of the excitement that lifestyle provides. After over fourteen years in the war on drugs, Brian Leininger is convinced that many law enforcement officers and prosecutors perpetuate the war for the same reason.
As a young Assistant District Attorney in inner-city Kansas City, Kansas, Brian quickly learned that writing search warrants and accompanying the police as they took a ram to someone's door was a lot more exciting than prosecuting forgery, auto burglary and traffic cases. As General Legal Counsel to the Kansas Highway Patrol, he rode along as the troopers combed the highways trying to determine which passing car contained the mother lode. Oftentimes finding the drug traffickers required shaking down scores of innocent people in the process.
Brian entered the private practice of law and, to supplement his income, took a job as the part-time City Prosecutor for an affluent suburb of Kansas City. He did the job he was assigned to do but quickly realized his heart was not in it. The police spent an inordinate amount of time working on drug cases and executing search warrants to recover a few grams of marijuana. He saw this as a huge misallocation of resources.
Now Brian's association with the drug war is to oppose it. He is convinced the war on drugs creates far more misery that it prevents.
Cosponsored By:
- NORML ISU
- Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)
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