Eddie Ellison was a retired

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

Detective Chief Superintendent of police who is famous for arguing for drug legalisation. He died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

on 29 January 2007. He continued to write and give presentations on policing and drug policy up to his death.

Career

Ellison spent two years as a Detective Sergeant at

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's Heathrow Airport combatting drug smuggling with Her Majesty's Customs and Excise officers. He then spent two years working against drugs suppliers and distributors across London. Ellison returned to the Scotland Yard's Central Drug Squad as Detective Chief Inspector where he commanded the squad for three years. As Detective Chief Superintendent heading the Crime Policy Group of Specialist Operations Department he later joined the Association of Chief Police Officers review teams that restructured the Regional Crime Squads and Drug Wings and worked with the team that justified and created the

National Criminal Intelligence Service The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) was a United Kingdom policing agency. Following the Police and Criminal Justice Act 2001, NCIS returned to direct funding by the Home Office in 2002 and was a non-departmental public body. On 1 A ...

(NCIS). In 1993 he retired.

Quotes

"Each and every police officer has their own ranking of the relative seriousness of all criminal offences that is often based on their background experiences. However hard they try, their attitudes and behaviour are often affected by that assessment. I have never, and can never, see the drug user as a 'criminal'. I see them as, amongst other descriptions, a rebellious youth, a risk taking idiot, a seeker of relief, a lobbyist for independent thought and freedom, someone in need of guidance and help or a very real exasperation to parents and friends. But in as much as the drug use is concerned, not a criminal and therefore the criminal law cannot be the appropriate weapon to counter or deter a choice of use."—Eddie Ellison

External links

Eddie's website
Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{activist-stub