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The Drug War Turns 40, As Cops Call For Armistice

One week after a global commission called for an end to the War on Drugs, a group of former law enforcement officials gathered in Washington, D.C. to echo those sentiments, saying that the Obama administration's rhetoric doesn't match the reality when it comes to counter-narcotics policy.

In a news conference this week, the group, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP, accused the Obama administration of "ramping up a war it disingenuously claims that it ended two years ago."

We recently took a look at the Drug War and calls to end it.

Guests on the show included Professor Bruce Bagley; Dr. Thomas McLellan, a former deputy Drug Czar; and Cesar Gaviria, former president of Colombia from 1990-1994. Gaviria was also a commissioner of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

The LEAP report comes on the 40th anniversary of the declaration of the War on Drugs by the Nixon administration.

Here's a clip of President Nixon talking about the dangers of drugs.

http://youtu.be/bsrxpVUKUK0

Nixon would later declare that the country had "turned the corner" in the anti-drug effort.

http://youtu.be/v48nbb8bJcw

This program aired on June 16, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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