Legalizing Sale of Drugs Proposed by O.C. Judge : Law: Present system perpetuates crime, is economic drain, he says. Plan sharply criticized by other officials.

SANTA ANA —  Saying the “war on drugs is lost,” Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray on Wednesday proposed legalizing the sale of marijuana, cocaine and heroin to adults as a way of controlling the problem.

Gray criticized drug laws as ineffective, perpetuating crime and creating “an enormous economic drain” on society.

“I’ve finally reached my saturation point,” said Gray, 47, a former federal prosecutor who considers himself a conservative judge. “I can’t live with myself knowing what I do and not saying anything about it.”

Under his proposal, the drugs would be sold without prescriptions at “licensed” neighborhood pharmacies at prices lower than they are sold illegally. He further suggested that the drugs be taxed to fund drug education and treatment programs.

Gray’s plan drew immediate and sharp criticism from county officials.

Board of Supervisor Chairman Roger R. Stanton called it a “very poor idea. . . . The kind of drugs he’s talking about are illegal for a reason.” He added that Gray’s plan would not “reduce the pain and agony that goes along with drugs.”

Donald E. Smallwood, the presiding judge of Orange County Superior Court, said Gray’s decision to go public with his views was “unfortunate.”

“His actions may constitute a violation of several of our canons here,” Smallwood said. “He may have brought his impartiality into question.”

Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates, one of the most outspoken critics, said he was outraged by the judge’s comments.

“What was this guy smoking?” the sheriff said. “It’s crazy. . . . What kind of role model is he?”

Gates said he believes Gray’s impartiality is a major issue, and that plans to file an affidavit with the court asking that Gray be removed from any drug cases brought by the Sheriff’s Department. Most of Gray’s current workload, however, is civil cases.

“Either you believe in what you’re doing or you don’t,” Gates said. “If he can’t handle it, then he better get out of the job. . . .”

“I’m going to make sure that the public of this county does not ever forget Judge Gray, and the position he took today,” Gates added. “And the only way I’m going to let off of that pressure is by him standing up tomorrow and saying he made a serious mistake . . . a serious error in judgment.”

Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi slammed Gray’s proposal as “a rather naive approach and solution to the problem.”

Regarding losing the war on drugs, Capizzi said, “I think the only one waving the white flag is Judge Gray.”

Even before Gray went into the details of his plan, he said he knew there would be “a knee-jerk reaction” to his recommendations.

Nonetheless, he said, he felt a duty to go public with the ideas he has been formulating for years from his experiences as a federal prosecutor and Municipal and Superior Court judge.

“I believe we are being played as suckers by our own drug laws,” Gray said. “I believe that the bad guys are winning. . . . The bad guys are laughing at us.”

Gray is not the first public official to take such a controversial stance. Former U.S. Atty. Gen. Ramsey Clark, Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke and U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet in New York have supported legalization of marijuana. Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz has said legalization should at least be considered.

Gray, who took vacation time to hold his morning press conference outside Superior Court here, said he wanted to make it clear that he was acting as a concerned citizen, not as a judge.

However, because he is a judge, Gray said, he is “uniquely able to get the message out.”

Despite his view on legalizing drugs, Gray adamantly denounced their use.

“I have never used any of these drugs and I never will,” he said. “I think they are garbage. I think that anyone who ever uses them is on a one-way street in the wrong direction.”

He said that nearly 80% of the criminal cases in Superior Court were somehow related to drugs. Eliminating some of the drug laws would alleviate court congestion, free jail space and save taxpayers money, Gray said.

And, if drugs were made less expensive and more accessible to the “hard-core users,” Gray said, those users would not be as inclined to “steal or prostitute” themselves to get drugs.

The plan, he said, also would eliminate the role of the drug pusher, who would not be able to profit by getting people “hooked.”

“Pushers are the scourge of the Earth,” Gray said.

Under the proposal, the drugs would be wrapped generically, tested for quality and sold at pharmacies. Gray said advertising would be prohibited and each dosage sold would have a warning label and educational pamphlet with it. Sterile needles would also be provided, in an attempt to reduce the spread of diseases, particularly AIDS, Gray said.

Even though Gray admits that his plans are in their formative stages and will be revised, he said there were certain drug laws that he would not discard.

“Drugs would never be sold to minors,” Gray said, suggesting that laws be revised to punish more severely people who supply minors narcotics.

Gray said current laws such as public drunkenness and driving under the influence would also remain on the books.

If his plan is ever adopted, Gray predicted that there might be an initial surge in drug use, but it would eventually decline as “the mysticism (is) taken away” and fully funded drug treatment and educational programs take hold.

In the meantime, Gray said at the conclusion of his press conference, he will continue trying cases as the law prescribes.

“I know I don’t have all the answers, (but) this is a jumping off point.”