Escape Should Lead to Drug Law Reform, Advocates Say

Corruption. Extradition. Border violence. Those were the standard talking-point topics by Texas lawmakers following Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán's brazen escape last week from a maximum-security Mexican prison.

Now, some advocates hope to add “drug policy reform” to the list, arguing that Guzmán’s catapult back to power of the Sinaloa cartel should lead to new discussions on how much outlawing drugs empowers the world's most ruthless drug lords.

Organizations like Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP, a worldwide group whose members include current and former peace officers, prosecutors and correctional officers, wasted little time in sounding the alarms about a possible increase in violence after Guzmán’s escape.

Rusty White, a former correctional officer, K9 handler and watchtower sniper who is one of LEAP’s 17 Texas-based members, said Guzmán's escape could escalate a war with rival cartels that sought to gain traction in disputed turf after Guzmán's arrest in February 2014.

"Chapo’s been controlling the...

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URL: 
https://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/21/escape-should-lead-talks-drug-laws-advocates-say/