SACRAMENTO, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A group of California police officers and judges said Monday that legalizing marijuana, on the state ballot in November, would improve public safety.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition urged support for Proposition 19, which would legalize possession of marijuana by adults, the Los Angeles Times reported. Former Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray, who has been a federal prosecutor, and former San Jose Police Chief Joseph McNamara argued legal marijuana would take business away from drug cartels and would make it less accessible for teenagers.


"I was a drug warrior until I saw what was happening in my own courtroom,'' Gray said.

McNamara, who is now a research fellow at Stanford University, said bootleggers flourished during Prohibition and disappeared when alcohol sales became legal.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition was founded by former police officers eight years ago. It is headquartered in Massachusetts.