"Man seeks to escape himself in myth, and does so by any means at his disposal. Drugs, alcohol, or lies. Unable to withdraw into himself, he disguises himself. Lies and inaccuracy give him a few moments of comfort."
Jean Cocteau

Peter Christ

Peter Christ retired as a police captain after a 20-year career enforcing drug laws in upstate New York. From the beginning, Peter believed that the drug war could never be won, and he always knew it was doing more harm than good. After retiring in 1989, Peter began speaking out publicly against the Drug War.


"The idea for LEAP is based on a group called Viet Nam Veterans Against the War. And why it's based on them is this: That is one group of people who spoke out against the Viet Nam war — who, whether you agreed with them or not on their conclusio — you could not dismiss them for not knowing what they were talking about."

In 2002, after four years of preparation, LEAP finally emerged as a viable international nonprofit educational organization. From an initial 5 members it has grown to nearly 7000.

Christ is one of the most experienced of the LEAP speakers, having spoken before hundreds of civic, professional, educational, and religious organizations; plus conducting television and radio interviews in dozens of cities. Peter speaks about the impact the Drug War has on police and community relations, the safety of law enforcement officers and suspects, police corruption and misconduct, and the financial and human costs associated with our current drug policies.

"It only took us 13 years to learn the lesson, and the lesson was: alcohol did not create Al Capone. Prohibition of alcohol created Al Capone, and the gangsters that roamed our streets. And the legalization of alcohol — we knew was not going to do anything to solve our alcohol problem — but the legalization of alcohol put a huge dent in our crime and violence problem."