Posted May 16th, 2024 by hiwayhowie
Cowboy is Qualified:
From out of the blue this week I received a request from META (Facebook) to help them improve their AI and algorithms to combat a growing problem of FB users selling coke, heroin, fentanyl on line.
Somehow, I had been selected as one of twenty drug policy experts in the world to help META.
I am not at liberty to disclose what was said.
This Week:
2 meetings: Grover Norquist : META
6002 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 08 this week
469 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, …spoke to 01 this week..R candidate running for the US House
COP stats since inception: August 2009
400 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 00
117 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media. 0 this week
245 interviews and reports in minor media … 0 this week –
102 Radio Interviews: 01 this week
34 major conferences attended – CPAC 2024, (3 UN drug conferences in Vienna, Austria), LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc.) 0 this week
Media: Blaze TV {new, popular right-wing}, (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, OAN, German, Swiss, French, Spanish TV and radio) Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Grand Rapids Press + 9 other MI papers. Chicago Tribune, Honolulu Star Advertiser {foto and caption}, Reason Magazine, Reuters, Stern
* Consider being a member of COP at $40 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 40 dollars buys all the copy paper COP uses in one year. Law Enforcement’s voice in opposition to current policy is vital on the Hill to achieve a repeal of federal drug prohibition. COP provides that voice. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org ( to donate by Internet)
To send a check:
COP
POB 543
Buckeystown, MD 21717
| Dear Howard,
I hope you are well.
I am xxxxx with Meta’s Content Policy team, which sets the standards for what content is and is not allowed on our platform. As part of this process, we regularly speak with experts, thought leaders, academia, and civil society to understand how we can improve our policies to better serve our user community and to more effectively remove violating content from our platform.
Currently, under our ‘Restricted Goods and Services’ policy, we restrict attempts to purchase, sell, market, coordinate the trade of, donate, offer or solicit high-risk drugs (drugs with a high likelihood of misuse, addiction, or associated with serious health risks, including overdose; e.g., cocaine, fentanyl, heroin). We are currently reviewing our list of high-risk drugs with the aim to include drugs that are considered the most dangerous, in terms of deaths, overdose etc..
Given your expertise, I would like to request for an off-the-record and informal discussion about this work. The call should last approximately 45-minutes. Please let me know what time would be convenient for you over the coming weeks.
Many thanks,
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Posted May 9th, 2024 by hiwayhowie
Expert and Experienced: this week i had a long chat with an assistant from a Texas, R office. He had worked in a for-profit company which dealt with opioid addicts. He not only knew methadone assisted treatment forwards and backwards, he later stated he was a 5-year free heroin addict. Whoa! He has become my Go-To guy for all such matters. Any question comes up and he can answer it from both directions.
His clinic charged $20,000 a month..if you relapse, you go back to the clinic and pay for at least one month, to receive methadone and other drugs like Valium to help you thru the personal crisis…yes, Virginia, it is all about the Benjamins
This Week:
1 meeting: Grover Norquist
5194 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 11 this week
468 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, …spoke to 01 this week..R candidate running for the US House
102 Radio Interviews: 01 this week
COP stats since inception: August 2009
400 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 00
117 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media. 0 this week
245 interviews and reports in minor media … 0 this week –
34 major conferences attended – CPAC 2024, (3 UN drug conferences in Vienna, Austria), LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc.) 0 this week
Media: Blaze TV {new, popular right-wing}, (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, OAN, German, Swiss, French, Spanish TV and radio) Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Grand Rapids Press + 9 other MI papers. Chicago Tribune, Honolulu Star Advertiser {foto and caption}, Reason Magazine, Reuters, Stern
* Consider being a member of COP at $40 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 40 dollars buys all the copy paper COP uses in one year. Law Enforcement’s voice in opposition to current policy is vital on the Hill to achieve a repeal of federal drug prohibition. COP provides that voice. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org ( to donate by Internet)
To send a check:
COP
POB 543
Buckeystown, MD 21717
Policing For Profit AKA Civil Asset Forfeiture
Scope of the issue: in this century the police are averaging 5 billion per year, 500 or 1000 dollars at a time.
Police and their unions fight changes tooth and nail. It is a true slush fund for their departments. Many prosecutors take 10% of all the seizures, so they fight change also
Bath Story: From my own experience: colleague stopped a guy for speeding; given consent to search the pickup; found $2200 in a bank bag; officer seized the cash and the truck; Prosecutor said you can have Half the Money today and your truck back, or wait 18 months ( and no truck) for the judge to hear the case…the barber who was en route to the bank with his weekly cash payment, took the deal..Legal Theft
TN…per un-rebutted investigation..in the 00s…. 91% of traffic stops with searches were made on I – 40 in the WB direction. Only 9% EB, where the cars carry the drugs between Memphis and Nashville. TN law enforcement wanted the money, much more than stopping drugs.
Maine now joins Nebraska, New Mexico, and North Carolina as the fourth state that ended civil forfeiture and replaced it with criminal forfeiture. All states retain criminal forfeiture.
At the federal level in 2024 – U.S. Representatives Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) reintroduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act (FAIR Act), a comprehensive reform to our nation’s civil asset forfeiture laws,” the two lawmakers announced in March.
- “Gov Stitt of Oklahoma said….”We need to address civil asset forfeiture,” Stitt said. “It’s crazy to me that somebody can be pulled over and have their cash and truck taken for an alleged crime, get acquitted of that crime, but they still never get their property back.
- Gov. Ducey: “Arizonans can stand strong in combating organized crime and criminal activity, without sacrificing the rights guaranteed under our Constitution for law abiding citizens. He signed legislation to make it harder for the police to just seize/steal money.
Kansas will sign legislation this week to move from preponderance to ‘clear and convincing ‘ evidence.
34 states now require more than: ‘51% – clear & convincing evidence Versus—-Preponderance of the evidence…Utah, Az, Florida are strict…Ga, Alabama, Tennessee, OK are NOT.
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Posted May 9th, 2024 by hiwayhowie
IPI – Impress, Persuade, Inspire:
I had another great experience at the Grover Norquist center-right meeting this week..we had 4 young guests from the Munich area (very conservative). We began auf Deutsch with German defense spending, then how they legalized cannabis last month (and how we waste time chasing God’s green plant in USA).. After a few minutes one of them noticed my name plate with the 3 flags. Without warning he asked me a question in French. He and I chatted for two minutes en francais..leaving the other 3 with mouths agape (it was a smooth, fluent transition). Another asked about the buckle and a couple more minutes about riding the pony from GA to OR…I love that kind of stuff.
Those Germans will not soon forget the cowboy, nor his message. Bonus: these encounters are one reason I have had this invitation for 14 years now.
the House was in recess this week.
This Week:
1 meeting: Grover Norquist
5183 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 14 this week
COP stats since inception: August 2009
400 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 00
467 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, …spoke to 0 this week
117 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media. 0 this week
101 Radio Interviews: 0 this week
245 interviews and reports in minor media … 0 this week –
34 major conferences attended – CPAC 2024, (3 UN drug conferences in Vienna, Austria), LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc.) 0 this week
Media: Blaze TV {new, popular right-wing}, (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, OAN, German, Swiss, French, Spanish TV and radio) Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Grand Rapids Press + 9 other MI papers. Chicago Tribune, Honolulu Star Advertiser {foto and caption}, Reason Magazine, Reuters, Stern
* Consider being a member of COP at $40 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 40 dollars buys all the copy paper COP uses in one year. Law Enforcement’s voice in opposition to current policy is vital on the Hill to achieve a repeal of federal drug prohibition. COP provides that voice. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org ( to donate by Internet)
To send a check:
COP
POB 543
Buckeystown, MD 21717
Policing For Profit AKA Civil Asset Forfeiture
Scope of the issue: in this century the police are averaging 5 billion per year, 500 or 1000 dollars at a time.
Police and their unions fight changes tooth and nail. It is a true slush fund for their departments. Many prosecutors take 10% of all the seizures, so they fight change also
Bath Story: From my own experience: colleague stopped a guy for speeding; given consent to search the pickup; found $2200 in a bank bag; officer seized the cash and the truck; Prosecutor said you can have Half the Money today and your truck back, or wait 18 months ( and no truck) for the judge to hear the case…the barber who was en route to the bank with his weekly cash payment, took the deal..Legal Theft
TN…per un-rebutted investigation..in the 00s…. 91% of traffic stops with searches were made on I – 40 in the WB direction. Only 9% EB, where the cars carry the drugs between Memphis and Nashville. TN law enforcement wanted the money, much more than stopping drugs.
Maine now joins Nebraska, New Mexico, and North Carolina as the fourth state that ended civil forfeiture and replaced it with criminal forfeiture. All states retain criminal forfeiture.
At the federal level in 2024 – U.S. Representatives Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) reintroduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act (FAIR Act), a comprehensive reform to our nation’s civil asset forfeiture laws,” the two lawmakers announced in March.
- “Gov Stitt of Oklahoma said….”We need to address civil asset forfeiture,” Stitt said. “It’s crazy to me that somebody can be pulled over and have their cash and truck taken for an alleged crime, get acquitted of that crime, but they still never get their property back.
- Gov. Ducey: “Arizonans can stand strong in combating organized crime and criminal activity, without sacrificing the rights guaranteed under our Constitution for law abiding citizens. He signed legislation to make it harder for the police to just seize/steal money.
Kansas will sign legislation this week to move from preponderance to ‘clear and convincing ‘ evidence.
34 states now require more than: ‘51% – clear & convincing evidence Versus—-Preponderance of the evidence…Utah, Az, Florida are strict…Ga, Alabama, Tennessee, OK are NOT.
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Posted May 9th, 2024 by hiwayhowie
Progress Made:
This month of April I am dropping off a sheet on how to arrest someone for DUI Marijuana; but only stopping at offices where the state has not yet legalized God’s green plant. It struck me and I smiled, as I passed so many offices that made the change; even Ohio, Montana, Arizona, etc.
As I begin my 24th year at this task, I take some satisfaction that by arrest: 25% of the Drug War is over. (half of all drug arrests have been for MJ, half the states have legalized = 25%). Of course, change has been agonizingly slow.
Almost forgotten topic: Policing for Profit via Civil Asset Forfeiture became a major feature of police work, starting in 1986…we only needed to find cash to take it and force the citizen to prove it was NOT going to be used to buy drugs.
This week I gave the Grover Norquist, center-right 100 my summary of progress…full presentation at bottom…34 states in this century have revised their laws to make it much harder for the police to take your 500 or 1000 dollars..even Kansas this week made it harder…the last 14 states are all Red. No surprise.
This Week:
1 meeting: Grover Norquist
5169 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 17 this week
400 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 02, CMan McGarvey (D-KY) and CWoman Williams (D-NC)
COP stats since inception: August 2009
467 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, …spoke to 0 this week
117 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media. 0 this week
101 Radio Interviews: 0 this week
245 interviews and reports in minor media … 0 this week –
34 major conferences attended – CPAC 2024, (3 UN drug conferences in Vienna, Austria), LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc.) 0 this week
Media: Blaze TV {new, popular right-wing}, (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, OAN, German, Swiss, French, Spanish TV and radio) Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Grand Rapids Press + 9 other MI papers. Chicago Tribune, Honolulu Star Advertiser {foto and caption}, Reason Magazine, Reuters, Stern
* Consider being a member of COP at $40 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 40 dollars buys all the copy paper COP uses in one year. Law Enforcement’s voice in opposition to current policy is vital on the Hill to achieve a repeal of federal drug prohibition. COP provides that voice. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org ( to donate by Internet)
To send a check:
COP
POB 543
Buckeystown, MD 21717
Policing For Profit AKA Civil Asset Forfeiture
Scope of the issue: in this century the police are averaging 5 billion per year, 500 or 1000 dollars at a time.
Police and their unions fight changes tooth and nail. It is a true slush fund for their departments. Many prosecutors take 10% of all the seizures, so they fight change also
Bath Story: From my own experience: colleague stopped a guy for speeding; given consent to search the pickup; found $2200 in a bank bag; officer seized the cash and the truck; Prosecutor said you can have Half the Money today and your truck back, or wait 18 months ( and no truck) for the judge to hear the case…the barber who was en route to the bank with his weekly cash payment, took the deal..Legal Theft
TN…per un-rebutted investigation..in the 00s…. 91% of traffic stops with searches were made on I – 40 in the WB direction. Only 9% EB, where the cars carry the drugs between Memphis and Nashville. TN law enforcement wanted the money, much more than stopping drugs.
Maine now joins Nebraska, New Mexico, and North Carolina as the fourth state that ended civil forfeiture and replaced it with criminal forfeiture. All states retain criminal forfeiture.
At the federal level in 2024 – U.S. Representatives Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) reintroduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act (FAIR Act), a comprehensive reform to our nation’s civil asset forfeiture laws,” the two lawmakers announced in March.
- “Gov Stitt of Oklahoma said….”We need to address civil asset forfeiture,” Stitt said. “It’s crazy to me that somebody can be pulled over and have their cash and truck taken for an alleged crime, get acquitted of that crime, but they still never get their property back.
- Gov. Ducey: “Arizonans can stand strong in combating organized crime and criminal activity, without sacrificing the rights guaranteed under our Constitution for law abiding citizens. He signed legislation to make it harder for the police to just seize/steal money.
Kansas will sign legislation this week to move from preponderance to ‘clear and convincing ‘ evidence.
34 states now require more than: ‘51% – clear & convincing evidence Versus—-Preponderance of the evidence…Utah, Az, Florida are strict…Ga, Alabama, Tennessee, OK are NOT.
.
Once Upon a Time in America…sidewalk chats for 3100 miles
Posted May 9th, 2024 by hiwayhowie
Back in the Saddle:
Coming off vacation, I went door to door this week, asking for the assistant who handles criminal justice. I stopped at all the Members in states which have not YET legalized marijuana. I passed out a one sheet ‘how to’ enforce DUIM (copy below). The issue of how do officers enforce DUI marijuana is still a lively topic, when a state considers legalization. Senior police officials often lie about it to the public, claiming we don’t have a number (like 08 for alcohol) and thus can’t arrest/remove.
This strategy bore fruit. I ended up talking to 16 assistants. Bonus, I had 3 Members who gave me each 4 minutes (that is a lot) to present our POV.
NOTE: During the 12 day cruise I had about 30 people ask why legalize heroin…people are very curious.
This Week:
1 meeting: Grover Norquist
5152 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 16 this week
398 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 03 this week: Greg Pence (R-IN); Kildee (D-MI); Dean (D-PA) – her son is a heroin addict in recovery.
COP stats since inception: August 2009
467 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, …spoke to 0 this week
117 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media. 0 this week
101 Radio Interviews: 0 this week
245 interviews and reports in minor media … 0 this week –
34 major conferences attended – CPAC 2024, (3 UN drug conferences in Vienna, Austria), LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc.) 0 this week
Media: Blaze TV {new, popular right-wing}, (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, OAN, German, Swiss, French, Spanish TV and radio) Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Grand Rapids Press + 9 other MI papers. Chicago Tribune, Honolulu Star Advertiser {foto and caption}, Reason Magazine, Reuters, Stern
* Consider being a member of COP at $40 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 40 dollars buys all the copy paper COP uses in one year. Law Enforcement’s voice in opposition to current policy is vital on the Hill to achieve a repeal of federal drug prohibition. COP provides that voice. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org ( to donate by Internet)
To send a check:
COP
POB 543
Buckeystown, MD 21717
| DUI of Marijuana Arrest Procedures (or any non-alcohol, intoxicating drug) (pain killers)
Overview: Based on the street experience of the author (400 arrests for DUI or DUID), arresting anyone for non-alcohol related DUI follows closely the same procedures as alcohol-related DUI. The three (3) differences are that on the side of the road, there is no instrument-based test to determine the presence nor the level of intoxication. The second difference is that blood should be drawn before the arrestee is put in jail. The third is the results of the blood test are not known, until after the arrestee has been released from the jail. Regardless of the court outcome, public safety is served.
Steps:
1. Officer observes bad driving or responds to an accident.
2. Officer conducts a field interview (questions and observations) of the driver to determine sobriety.
3. If sobriety is in question, officer has subject perform physical & mental tests.
A. NOTE: In some states, a DRE (drug recognition expert) will also run the suspect through a series of physiological (pulse rate, nystagmus) and performance tests. A DRE is advantageous but not necessary.
4. If these subjective tests indicate intoxication above the legal standard and alcohol is not detected, the subject is arrested and read their rights for a chemical test.
5. The officer requests the arrestee submit to a blood test, as breath would be useless.
6. The arrestee is taken to a medical facility and blood is drawn. Arrestee is taken to jail. Formal charge is DUI of Drugs. The blood is taken to a lab. NOTE: if arrestee declines to take the test, a search warrant is obtained and blood is drawn with or without their cooperation.
7. X Days later the results from the lab are sent to the prosecutor’s office. The prosecutor would then issue a complaint and warrant for DUI of Drugs, if the facts merit such.
A. NOTE: Pennsylvania used to have a 5ng/ml THC/blood standard for DUI but in 2011 amended it to 1ng/ml. Some states set the level at zero (Michigan) or 2ng/ml (Ohio, Nevada). Colorado and Washington are now 5 ng/ml.
8. If a trial takes place, the prosecution uses the following elements to demonstrate guilt to the jury: driving, field interview and the presence of marijuana in the blood (or other intoxicating drugs—note most common in my experience was prescription pain killers).
9. Generally speaking the punishment for DUI alcohol and DUI marijuana is the same.
10. Whereas the federal government has set a national standard of 0.08% for alcohol DUI (in order to receive highway funds), it has not set a standard for marijuana or any other intoxicating drug (cocaine, heroin, Oxycodone, Vicodin, etc.)
Howard
Detective Officer Howard ‘Cowboy’ Wooldridge, Retired
Founder & Drug Policy Specialist of COP Citizens Opposing Prohibition
Co-Founder of Law Enforcement Action Partnership( www.LEAP.cc)
howardwooldridge0@gmail.com
817-975-1110 : Metro Washington DC |
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The National Institute on Drug Abuse also states that “the role played by marijuana in [traffic] accidents is often unclear, because it can remain detectable in body fluids for days or even weeks after intoxication and because users frequently combine it with alcohol.” Though the NIDA adds, “The risk associated with marijuana in combination with alcohol appears to be greater than that for either drug by itself.”
A February 2015 “Drug and Alcohol Crash Risk” study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did find “a statistically significant increase” in crash risk (1.25 times) for drivers who tested positive for THC. But after the researchers controlled for age, gender, ethnicity and alcohol concentration level, increased crash risk associated with marijuana was no longer significant. This suggests these other variables “account for much of the increased risk associated … with THC,” write the study authors.
There’s also some evidence that medical marijuana laws may contribute to decreasing traffic fatalities. One study published in The Journal of Law & Economics in 2013 reviewed traffic fatalities in the 19 states that had passed medical marijuana laws by 2010 and found that “legalization is associated with an 8–11 percent decrease in traffic fatalities” for the year after the laws took effect. The researchers from the University of Colorado, Denver and elsewhere also found that the decrease is more significant for alcohol-related fatalities at 13.2 percent.
To be clear, there is evidence that “marijuana significantly impairs judgment, motor coordination, and reaction time,” according to the NIDA.
Howard ‘Cowboy’ Wooldridge
Drug Policy Specialist at COP (www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org)
Co-Founder of LEAP – Law Enforcement Action Partnership: (LEAP.cc)
Respice Finem consider the end
The War on Drugs has been the most destructive, dysfunctional & immoral policy since slavery and Jim Crow
817-975-1110
Washington, DC
Once Upon a Time in America…sidewalk chats for 3100 miles
