Obama has selected Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske as the new drug czar and it appears that while he is 100% cop, and a heavy duty law enforcement guy, unlike previous heads of the ONDCP, he’s not an insane drug warrior.

People who are looking at a more humane policy in dealing with drugs are pleasantly surprised by his appointment, as are legalization groups.

Specifically, during his tenure as police chief, he actually followed a law, initiative 75, which specifically deprioritized marijuana enforcement,^* and kept the police from harassing needle exchange programs, which helps reduce AIDS transmission.

He’s never going to be NORML’s man of the year, and he’s not going to call for legalizing weed, but he is remarkable improvement over the ‘war on drugs’ crowd that has done nothing but fill prisons with non-violent offenders.

^*I-75 saw a decline in drug use as well.