Cops on the Hill:     Stories from the weeks of Sept 9 and 16, 2022

 Frustration:   The House and Senate office buildings have been closed to citizen lobbyists like me since March of 2020…Nancy dropped the mask requirement in the spring of this year.  Per my Member, she is still afraid of an insurrection, despite now having a President who would not let that happen.  Until I am allowed back in the buildings, I am unable to do an adequate job.

Plz do what I just did.  Tell your Members to urge Nancy and Chuck to allow the public back into the buildings.

Regarding the last missive, COP member William Maner has an excellent analysis of why former addicts often oppose legalize/regulate…at the bottom..thanks William.

Hi, Howard:

My understanding is that many so-called “former” addicts (sometimes referred to as “non-using” addicts) have been so heavily indoctrinated in treatment programs, and sometimes also by a few misguided church pastors that misapply the Bible, that the former drug-users actually believe that drug use is a reprehensible act that should only and always be punished – a “crime” or a “sin”. But that attitude flies in the face of reality, whether you are coming from a medical or a moral angle:

1.) From a medical perspective, as you know, addiction is a disease, and people should not be harassed, persecuted, prosecuted, and incarcerated, or forced to receive treatment, for their own medical afflictions, any more than a diabetic should.

2.) From a moral perspective (at least from a Christian perspective), the Bible teaches MODERATION in “addictive” activities, which could include nicotine (tobacco), drugs, alcohol, excessive/obsessive use of electronics devices, sexual addiction, adrenaline addiction (race-car driving, free-climbing mountains, roller coasters, bungee jumping), the acquisition and pursuit of money, quest for power, etc.

There is nothing inherently criminal or sinful about any of those listed activities. God only says that EXCESSIVE engagement in those activities is a sin (Ephesians 5:18; and 1 Peter 4:3). Christ Himself made wine from water, so clearly He had no problem with drinking (John 2:7-11), which is a drug. Overindulgence, in anything, is the only moral issue the Bible points out, especially with regard to drugs.

But the “former” addicts often get an air of superiority, looking down their noses at still-using addicts. The reason: “Why don’t they just give up the drugs like I did?”, “I have no sympathy for people like that”, “If I had to quit using the drugs, then so should they – and if they don’t quit using drugs, then they are low-lives that just need to be punished”, “Punishing some people is the only way to MAKE them learn!”, etc.

I think it stems from the fact that the former users came to see their own selves as “bad” when using drugs in their past, so now they hypocritically take it out on those addicts who still use, and anything which the former-user (wrongly) interprets as “permissive” use of drugs (e.g. legalization, decriminalization) is an abomination to that thinking. In some ways, the former addict can be just as staunchly hypocritical, judgmental, intolerant, and condemning of drug use as can a traditional Prohibitionist!

Just my take on it…

William

Cops on the Hill:   Stories from the weeks of August 26 & Sept 2, 2022

Buzz Saw: I had a lively chat with a legislative assistant who quickly inserted how he was a recovering heroin addict…..and completely opposed to any reducing penalties for drug possession.  BTW, besides cops, prosecutors and conservative ministers, former addicts are quite often opposed to legalization.  And they often are agitated by my shirt/position!

Here and most often, I am accused of not understanding how dangerous crack, meth and heroin are.  LOL.  This gentleman immediately dismissed the Portugal decrim program, since it is a foreign country.  He also dismissed out of hand the Oregon results, since it has only been in effect 20 months.  We kept it professional and parted cordially.  And so it goes

Cops on the Hill:   Stories from the weeks of August 12 & 19, 2022

More Studies Needed?: The aide stated that his office (D-CA) believed that before any more changes to hard drug laws could happen, more research was needed to know how dangerous drugs like cocaine, meth and heroin are.  Being as diplomatic as possible, I replied these drugs have been around for about 100 years and have already been thoroughly studied.  Their addictive properties, their power have been widely known and published decades ago.  Moreover, per multiple studies, reducing penalties for users has little to no impact on drug use or drug experimentation.  His Boss is 80 years old and thus……and so it goes…..

Note:  California reduced the penalty for simple possession of hard drugs in 2004 from state-prison felony to a max of 12 months in the county jail…17 other states have followed that lead, including Oklahoma and Utah.

Citizens Opposing Prohibition Annual Report (August 1, 2021 thru July 31, 2022)

COP remains solid in both its mission and the means to carry it out.  ED Howard Wooldridge made 187 presentations to Congressional staffers, 4 Members of Congress and 22 VIPs during this fiscal year.  Due to Covid restrictions, all Congressional presentations had to be made by phone which is less effective and better than not doing them. The 4 chats with Members and VIPS were done in person.   The general public, including lobbyists, were not allowed in the building, unless accompanied by staff the whole time.  This restriction was true the entire fiscal year.

The major push this year was for Congress to pass legislation that would result in all drugs being decriminalized at the federal level, following the example and experience of Portugal and Oregon.  A House Bill: HR 4020 contained this language.  The bill had only 28 co-sponsors and no hearings on it were held in the House.  Support for the bill was hampered by a ‘defund the police’ type paragraph. There was no bill in the Senate.  COPs will urge the House and Senate to introduce this type of legislation again in 2022 in cleaner, more focused language and certainly leaving out the ‘defund the police’ section.

In Congress no major drug legislation was passed.  All changes are occurring at the state and local level. 20 states now have full legalization of marijuana and 38 have medical marijuana.  Oregon is still the only state for full, drug decrim.  Many states and local governments are considering decrim or outright legalization for psychedelics/hallucinogens.  Ten states introduced bills to go full decrim; none passed.

International: In September 2021 Howard had a 2-hour working lunch with Lucien Colliandner in Bern in French.  Lucien is an employee at the Swiss Ministry of Health, specializing in their heroin treatment program.  It was their first meeting.

LEAP Germany interviewed Howard on camera for use by their members and interviewed.  Four (4) vignettes were produced from this effort in Frankfurt in October.

The financial health of COPs remains stable, ending the year with a bank balance of circa $35,000.  Our donors provided the organization with circa $6,000 in donations this year.  We ended the year with a bit less than we started.  This is down considerably from 2019, as our most major donor went MIA.

Due to Covid, expenses were down with no major conferences attended.  This is expected to change in the next fiscal year, as USA opens back up.  Expenditures were circa $10,000 this fiscal year.

The most major expense was a two-week excursion to participate in the annual RAGBRAI bicycle tour across Iowa.  The event attracted some 27,000 bikers this year.  During the 8 nights and 7 days Howard had about 300 chats, the average lasting 3-4 minutes.  During the camp time (around the beer tent) another 100 engaged in a lengthier chat about drug policy.  Finally, Howard estimated another 10-15,000 read the shirt, as they passed him, as Howard was one of the slowest of the crowd.

The composition of the COP board of directors changed this year.  Director and Treasurer Karen Anderson resigned her positions, effective August 23, 2021.  Linda Carr has stepped up to take on the duties of Treasurer.  Director Jerry Epstein moved into an assisted living facility in the spring of 2022, due to mental diminishment.  His status is unclear.

Cops on the Hill:   Stories from the weeks of July 29 & August 5 2022

 RAGBRAI (Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is more than just a bike ride, it is an epic eight-day rolling festival of bicycles, music, food, camaraderie, and community. It is the oldest, largest, and longest multi-day bicycle touring event in the world.) Des Moines Register (state’s largest newspaper)

Funny thing happened on the path to fun & exercise:  The response to the shirt’s question of why legalize heroin was a constant steam of bikers slowing down to my average speed of 12-14 MPH and asking “why?”  The average chat lasted about 5 minutes, enough to wind me and then I had to stop for water and catch my breath.  (Elevator answer: ‘if we let people have the drugs they want, we will be able to arrest more pedophiles, drunk driver and others who are trying to hurt you and your family.’)….no one disagreed with the assertion.

At tent camp each night I would spend a couple of hours with 10-15 rotating bikers under a canopy to drink beer and without fail, someone would ask why legalize and a lively chat ensued for 5-15 minutes….all good. By Wednesday, my voice was in danger of going hoarse….all good.

400 miles later we reached the Mississippi River and pretty exhausted both mentally and physically (hot sun and lack of good sleep {No More Tents for this Old Cowboy})

Due to the serious amount of work done, I will  expense part of the trip.