COP on the Hill: Stories from the week of August 3, 2018

COP on the Hill

Stories from the week of August 3, 2018

Just a solid week in the Senate finishing up the distribution of 2018 Updates (see below).

I did mention to staffers the need for an oversight hearing, to determine the number of young people shot each day, due to their employment in the drug trade. COP analysis shows the number to be 18. I added, we know the trillion-dollar cost. What is the cost in the blood of our youth?

Poor planning on my part (did not read the weather report) meant I was about to be soaked, running 5 minutes from the Senate to Union Station. One of the building staff I’ve known for 10 years came thru the door and we bumped fists. Then I jokingly said I would give him five bucks for the large umbrella he had. “Just take it.” He replied. I accepted his offer. (note: visitors leave hundreds of umbrellas at the security station every year & staff can use them after no one claims them).

It is in my nature to be friendly to all and it paid off on Thursday.

This week’s stats:

2891 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 13 this week
273 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 02 (Senator Corry Gardner R-CO, Senator Tammy Baldwin D-WI)
1 Meetings – meetings, hearings, etc.

COP stats since inception: August 2009

255 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. this week
78 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media. 00..This week (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, German, Swiss, French, Spanish TV and radio)
84 Radio Interviews. 0 this week
152 interviews and reports in minor media = 0 this week.
Weekly attendance at Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
* 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
84 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $83,000) 0 this week
43 published interviews/foto in major (daily) newspapers or magazine… 0 this week
29 major conferences attended – (United Nations drug conference, CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc.) 00 this week

* Consider being a member of COP at $40.00 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 prohibition. COP provides that voice. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org
War on Drugs Update: 2018
Oklahoma 57% to 43 passed a robust, Medical MJ ballot initiative on June 26. How conservative is OK? It did not approve of legal alcohol, until 1956!! 30 states + DC have MMJ programs. 9 states MJ for adult use is legal.

Canada legalized MJ possession & sale. Goes into on effect October 17, 2018. The Provinces will decide on the regs.

Mexico’s new president wants an internal debate on legalize small quantities of all drugs, like they had in 1940.
The MJ industry employs 160,000 FTE in USA. 2X as many as the coal industry. Wages start at 15/hr.
In “Marijuana Legalization and Crime Clearance Rates: Testing Proponent Assertions in Colorado and Washington State,” researchers find that this claim holds up under scrutiny. The paper, published this in July 2018 Police Quarterly, notes significant increases in the clearance rate—the ratio between the number of crimes solved and the total number of crimes recorded by the police—for violent crime in both Colorado and Washington state, the first two states to legalize recreational cannabis, following legalization.
The FDA announced in June that it’s given its approval to Epidiolex, a natural plant, CBD drug. Not yet scheduled.
Drug War Refugees…symptom vs disease…the 100,000 kids on the border since 2014 R fleeing Cartel violence and employment. Why are there cartels? Our lovely, 1.2 trillion-dollar war on drugs / Modern Prohibition, of course – which puts heroin in every town in America.
The Governors of 12 states have endorsed the STATES Act letter: (Rep: MA, MD, ND, NV, AK) (Dem: CA, OR, WA, CO, PA, NJ, NY). The Gardner/Warren bill, S 3032, would simply apply the 10th Amendment to God’s green plant. Introduced in June 2018. Joyce & Blumenauer have the House companion bill. HR 6043.

Police resistance still strong, as they are losing 13 billion in wages + 2 billion in civil asset forfeiture, as MJ becomes more legal. Also, the police losing the ‘right’ to search cars and persons, by claiming they smell marijuana.
Marijuana use by teens: The CDC report shows about 19.6 percent of CO high schoolers said they had used marijuana one or more times in the past 30 days, down from 22 percent in 2011, the year before recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado. The state’s 2017 rate is just slightly below the national average of 19.8 percent.

Fewer teens are employed as drug dealers, due to MJ legalization in 9 states. As expected, the legal MJ states are performing Record expungement of simple MJ arrests.

The American Legion endorsed HR 2020 which moves MJ to Schedule 3.
Since legalization in Colorado, the vehicle search rate of African American drivers 21 and over dropped by nearly half, while the search rate of Hispanic drivers fell by 58 percent. White drivers faced almost two-thirds fewer searches after recreational marijuana was legalized. http://www.businessinsider.com/police-are-searching-far-fewer-cars-in-states-that-have-legalized-marijuana-2017-6

Questions… Concerns?
Howard ‘Cowboy’ Wooldridge, Detective Bath Township, MI (retired)
Drug Policy Specialist @ CitizensOpposingProhibition.org / LEAP.cc
Washington, DC
817-975-1110