Judge Besieged After Call for Legalized Drugs

A day after he proposed making heroin, cocaine and marijuana legal because the “war on drugs has been lost,” Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray was under siege by officials and members of the public reacting to his idea.

Telephone calls poured in to his courtroom as county and federal law enforcement officials formally denounced Gray’s legalization proposal, likening it to a Pandora’s box that would create as many problems as Gray said his plan would eliminate.

At the Central Courthouse in Santa Ana, people stopped Gray in the halls or outside the building to talk about his proposal. His courtroom bailiff was busy throughout the day handling scores of telephone calls and keeping track of the supporters and opponents.

Gray estimated that the calls were running about 60% in his favor.

“The real thing is that people are starting to suggest alternatives, suggest things that I haven’t thought of about what would happen in the event that we do something,” the judge said. “That is the whole idea. We need to have people discuss alternatives and address the situation.”

Gray, 47, held a news conference Wednesday to propose that the use and sale of marijuana, cocaine and heroin be legalized for adults. Under his plan, the narcotics would be sold at licensed neighborhood pharmacies and taxed to fund drug education and treatment programs.

Gray contended that current drug laws are ineffective and perpetuate a substantial amount of crime, including robberies, murders and burglaries.

His legalization plan is similar to others proposed by such prominent people as conservative columnist William F. Buckley.

Gray’s proposal was immediately criticized Wednesday by Sheriff Brad Gates and other county officials, including Board of Supervisors Chairman Roger Stanton, Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi and Donald E. Smallwood, the presiding judge of Orange County Superior Court.

Smallwood said that Gray risked possible violations of state judicial canons, which state that judges should perform their duties with impartiality and give the appearance of impartiality. However, the same canons, Smallwood said, allow judges to speak out on topics related to the improvement of the administration of justice.