Posted November 8th, 2010 by hiwayhowie
Pubdate: Mon, 4 Oct 2010
STOPPING CARTELS
Your promotion of the latest idea in 45 years of drug prohibition is a disservice to readers. Every great-sounding idea has failed to make the smallest dent in Mexican drug operations.
This limit on cash sales is the latest cruel hoax to give us the false hope that it might make a difference.
While you act like a college football team’s cheerleader, Northern Mexico is dying.
Shame on you. You have never dared print a proven method to destroy the drug cartels, namely repealing drug prohibition.
At least ex-President Vicente Fox has the courage to state the obvious. What is your excuse?
Howard Wooldridge
Dallas
Posted August 22nd, 2010 by hiwayhowie
COPs on the Hill
Stories from the week of August 13, 2010
Just smile and not complain: While on vacation the IRS sent their letter approving COPs as a 501 c 3 non profit organization. Your donations are now officially tax deductible. Major donors will receive a copy of the IRS letter via the mail. If you also need a copy, just ask. The process per IRS guidelines should have taken three months. Our process took just over eight months. Still just smile and be happy.
Just keep knocking on the door: I am down to the last 74 offices in the House not done. These are the ones where the legislative aide never answers my email request and deletes the phone message requesting a 10 minute meeting. Therefore, I am reduced to going door to door & ask for a few minutes of their time (think door to door vacuum cleaner salesman). One day this week I struck out in 34 of 34 offices in the Rayburn building. Ouch. The next day I was able to see 7 of those 34, including 2 that I had not seen since 2006!! Ups and downs of the job, though my cowboy boots need to new leather bottoms.
Building relationships: This week I made a presentation to an Illinois office to the newly assigned legislative aide. It went well. Checking my records for that Congessman, the person I spoke to in 2006 is now the chief of staff and the person I spoke to last year is now the legislative director. I know that is one office that will ‘lobby’ their boss for the marijuana prohibition repeal bill which will be introduced in January. Big smile as I left the office.
14 presentations to Congressional staffers (start of new statistical year)
Consider being a member of COPs at $30.00 or more per year. Add your voice to those who agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow. Go to: www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or check.
Howard
Your support for COPs meant–
Final COP First Year Stats 2009-2010:
443 presentations to Congressional Staffers
535 Congressional offices contacted
7 presentations to VIPs (elected officials)
37 published Letters to the Editor
Numerous conferences, hearings & briefings attended. C-Span broadcast my question at a Senate briefing.
12 radio shows
8 TV interviews (Colombian TV, Fox and Univision, NBC, cable)
Posted August 1st, 2010 by hiwayhowie
The wine is sweeter today: This week the House passed by voice vote (no one heard a nay*) the Webb Criminal Justice Commission bill. The commission will study drug prohibition and make recommendations to the Congress on whether to keep all of it, some of it, none of it, etc. The Senate is expected (but don’t hold your breath) to pass it in September. Medium sized step..
As a bonus the House passed and it now goes for Obama’s signature a bill to reduce the disparity between crack and powder cocaine from 100:1 to 18:1. This an 82% improvement not based in science (in which case it would be 1:1). Still this will allow thousands to dealers to go free and act as a model for the states to adopt the federal standard. Some states have already gone 1:1.
As my LEAP colleague Tom Angell pointed out, it was very significant that the Republicans did not demand a roll call vote on either bill. “Soft on drugs/soft on crime” has been used by the Rs for decades to hurt the Dems. On this day, they allowed good legislation to go forward without a recorded vote.
Karen and I start a week long vacation today, so no letter next week.
Nay = nein
www.mapinc.org considered this the best published LTE a few weeks ago. It was in my hometown paper.
LETTER OF THE WEEK
LOST WAR ON DRUGS AND ITS CASUALTIES
When you lie down with dogs, often you will get up with fleas. Yet another in my profession (Megan Mattingly) has been tainted* by the enforcement of drug prohibition. Add her to the many, many thousands who have been corrupted or killed, or who have committed suicide after being corrupted. And for what? We in law enforcement know that every drug dealer arrested is replaced within days. The nine suspects released (or even if they had gone to prison) are meaningless.
A trillion tax dollars spent and 40 years of serious effort have resulted in a Maryland free of drugs? No. Quite the contrary. Drugs are cheaper, stronger and readily available to our teens.
Please tell this reader again why you support this Bridge to Nowhere policy.
Howard Wooldridge, retired detective/officer
Buckeystown
Source: Frederick News Post (MD)
Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jun 2010
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n000/a017.html
Tainted = Makel – Spur
COP stats since August 2009:
443 presentations to Congressional Staffers
7 presentations to VIPs (elected officials)
38 published Letters to the Editor ( one more this week)
Numerous conferences, hearings & briefings attended. C-Span broadcast my question at a Senate briefing.
12 radio shows
8 TV interviews (Colombian TV, Fox and Univision, NBC, cable)
Consider being a member of COPs at $30.00 or more per year. Add your voice to those who agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow. Go to: www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or check.
Howard
Detective/Officer Howard Wooldridge (retired)
Drug Policy Specialist, COP – www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org
Washington, DC
817-975-1110 Cell
howard@citizensopposingprohibition.org
Citizens Opposing Prohibition – Become a Member
PO Box 772
Buckeystown, MD 21717-0772
Modern Prohibition/The War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional & immoral domestic policy since slavery & Jim Crow.
Posted July 29th, 2010 by hiwayhowie
COPs on the Hill
Stories from the week of July 23, 2010
I am a spy: Searching for allies on our issue is a 24/7 vigilance* in Washington. As you know, drug prohibition touches upon many other issues from foreign policy to terrorism to immigration. Thus I attended a meeting at the OSI (Open Society Institute) this week, where the panel urged a policy based on open borders, amnesty, citizenship, etc. The seminar was well-attended and a Congressional staffer happened to sit next to me.
During Question and Answer I brought up the point that since the first priority of federal borders agents is drugs, the goal of a ‘secure border’ remains an elusive* goal. NOTE: both liberal and conservative Members speak publicly of the need for no illegal entry i.e. a secure border. Two hours later we discovered we were both from Texas. She said she had been sent by her Texas Member to spy on the seminar to learn what the liberals were thinking. We had a short chat on my issue and parted company.
I am humbled and honored: The COP fiscal year ends on July 31. The stats below will record our first year’s efforts. So many of you have become members of COPs and given generously. Each time I found a check in the post office box or received a notice from PayPal, I was grateful and energized by the support. Your support kept a police voice/perspective in Washington, DC and to carry the message of anti-prohibition to all the Member offices . Thank you. Thank you so much.
*Vigilance = Wachsamkeit
COP stats since August 2009:
443 presentations to Congressional Staffers (6 more this week)
7 presentations to VIPs (elected officials)
37 published Letters to the Editor (that we know of- one more this week)
Numerous conferences, hearings & briefings attended. C-Span broadcast my question at a Senate briefing. (one hearing this week)
12 radio shows
8 TV interviews (Colombian TV, Fox and Univision, NBC, cable)
Consider being a member of COPs at $30.00 or more per year. Add your voice to those who agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow. Go to: www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or check.
Howard
