Hey, don’t blame the cops. We only enforce the law, we don’t make it.

It’s something we hear quite often, but of course it just isn’t true.

For more than five years, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Lt. Barbara Ferguson has been helping the men and women of the department protect the public.
But instead of a gun and badge, Ferguson relies on her powers of persuasion as she maneuvers through the state Capitol and the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C., serving as the Sheriff’s Department’s legislative liaison. The High Desert resident lobbies legislators to help pass or defeat bills that affect public safety and the Sheriff’s Department. [..]
Ferguson is not only instrumental in lobbying for the passage of bills but also for the defeat of bills that will hinder the ability of law enforcement to keep communities safe.
“There is currently legislation that will attempt to legalize the use and cultivation of marijuana, and we are opposed to that,” she said, adding that marijuana is a gateway drug that can lead to other harder drugs. “We have a big fight on our hands with that.”

Translation: Our marijuana prohibition laws cause criminal activity and make the public less safe. They also damage our relationship and trust with the public, making it harder to keep the public safe. But prohibition laws give us more power and more money, so we’ll keep lobbying for them.