It didn't take long after they elected L.A.'s Antonio Villaraigosa as president for the U.S. Conference of Mayors to take a hard left turn into druggy territory.

The group this week declared that America's war on drugs is a failure, a statement that has pro-pot groups like Drug Policy Alliance giddy like Snoop with a new bong.

The conference unanimously adopted a resolution this week calling the war the “principal driver of mass incarceration in America.” The DPA's national director of affairs, Bill Piper:

The U.S. is supposed to be the land of the free but we have more people behind bars than any other country in the world, mostly because of the failed war on drugs. The 40th Anniversary of the failed drug war is a good opportunity to move in a new direction. A national commission would help policymakers develop evidence-based policies that reduce incarceration, save taxpayer money, and improve public safety.

The mayors want to see the federal government essentially back off on small-time drug offenses (personal holders and users). (And these guys and girls are pretty much anti- any war, it seems).

The resolution (PDF) calls on the government to

… Reduce crime and violence, improve cost-effectiveness, ensure the interests of justice at every step of the criminal justice system…reduce incarceration, reform U.S. drug policy, eliminate racial and gender disparities, improve re-entry efforts, and expand access to substance abuse treatment, mental health services and healthcare …

So, if Villaraigosa and his band of marry mayors are so gung-ho for ganja, we wonder if he'll try to relax new rules right here in L.A. that would put all but a hundred or so medical marijuana dispensaries out of business.

You know, just to impress his friends in the conference.

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]

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