Leigh Maddox and Peter Christ (members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition): The “War on Drugs” helped create a situation where from gangs, to police to lawyers to jails, there are massive amounts of money to be made in this never-ending “war” Story Transcript PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I’m […]
Author Archives: Leigh Maddox and Peter Christ
Leigh Maddox is a retired Captain from the Maryland State Police. Leigh served as the Commander of the Baltimore Washington Metro Troop, Planning and Research Division, Training Division, and as the coordinator for the racial profiling Consent Decree related to the drug interdiction policies of the Maryland State Police.
Peter Christ retired as a police captain after a 20-year career enforcing drug laws. From the beginning, Peter believed "the drug war can never be won and it is doing more harm than good." After retiring in 1989, Peter began speaking out publicly against that War. In 1993, he became one of the first members of "ReconsiDer", one of the original forums on drug policy, involving speakers from many diverse backgrounds. Peter quickly developed into the group's leading spokesperson, appearing at hundreds of venues.
Peter then originated the idea of creating LEAP, a drug policy reform group of current and former members of law enforcement modeled on "Vietnam Veterans Against the War". In 2002, after four years of Peter's preparation, LEAP finally emerged as a viable international nonprofit educational organization.