Posted September 12th, 2013 by hiwayhowie
COP on the Hill
Stories from the week of September 6, 2013
The enormity of AG Holder’s decision to respect the 10th Amendment (States’ Rights) regarding Colorado and Washington to regulate, sell and tax marijuana continues to roil, unsettle and stir up DC. So many questions have been generated. Senator Leahy is going forward with his hearing next Tuesday and some answers may be forth coming from the US Justice Dept. Stay tuned.
Probably the hat: At the Leadership Institute’s (training ground for young conservatives) monthly breakfast with about 70 attending, the reporter from the Washington Times sat down across from me. We had a good chat on the topic and exchanged cards.
Just shoot me now: I met with a Senate office this week and the aide said one thing that was so disheartening. “I get most of my information from the DEA and what they tell me is a lot different from what you just said.” YIKES! Truly I am a Lone Ranger + two.
The aide accepted that the DEA is fighting for its very existence, paychecks, etc. and that reality might alter what they tell Congressional offices. That COP does not ask for an appropriation/$$$ is still a powerful message in this town.
Legalization coming to more states; Article at bottom is a roadmap to where/when.
Professional note: Several of you miss-read my “Dear Boys and Girls” part last week. I am NOT returning to Texas anytime soon. My mission is still active and we need to pass the repeal bill. Then I would consider leaving. Know I will work at this drug prohibition (all of them) until they are in the history books or I draw my last breath.
This week’s stats:
- 1374 Presentations to Congressional staffers..19 this week
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COP stats since inception: August 2009
- 32 Radio Interviews.. this week
- 61 interviews and reports in minor media = blogs, cable TV, weekly papers, etc.. this week
- 34 Appearances on major TV networks..this week(Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision)
- 22 published interviews in major (daily)newspapers or magazine… this week
- 72 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $70,000)
- 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
- 37 brief chats with Members of Congress..this week
- 40 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. this week
- 15 major conferences attended.. this week (CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions. etc)
- Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
- Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 30 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. If you agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow and want to be a part of the solution… Go to:
Pot Legalization Advocates List Target States, Say Obama Policy Helps
Some advocates of marijuana legislation are claiming victory in the Obama administration’s announcement of a laid-back approach to states with softer laws on marijuana, reports USA Today. Political opponents of marijuana legalization can no longer cite the federal government as a reason to squelch reform, said Mason Tvert of the Marijuana Policy Project. Legalization advocates are geared up for 2014 and 2016 elections with ballot initiatives in states, including Alaska, California, Maine, Nevada and Oregon, says Stephen Gutwillig of the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates a public-health approach to drug use. Tvert expects to see legalization measures by 2016 in Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana and Nevada.
Drug abuse prevention groups say they will work to derail the movement. Arthur Dean of the Community Anti-Drug Coalition, said, “We remain gravely concerned that we as a nation are turning a blind eye to the serious public health and public safety threats associated with widespread marijuana use.” USA Today
Posted September 9th, 2013 by hiwayhowie
Work done in fourth fiscal year:
To make record keeping simple, I stopped recording yearly stats and just keep a running total since COP inception. The bread and butter Congressional presentations numbered roughly 340. This number reflects being absent from DC for 4 weeks in the spring for personal reasons and 5 weeks in the fall to volunteer for Colorado’s legalize/regulate initiative.
Know that about 20% of the offices simply refuse to meet with me. 70% of the House offices force me to go door to door to meet as opposed to responding to my email for an appointment to meet. Luckily the Senate offices agree to set up a meeting at about 60% of the time.
The champions of drug reform Misters Paul and Frank left the House. The new champions are Misters Polis (D-CO) and Rohrabacher (R-CA). They introduced repeal legislation early in the 113th Session. Neither bill is doing well with only 16 and 18 co-sponsors respectively. COP continues to educate the Congress on the need to repeal federal, marijuana prohibition.
I attended the Republican and Democratic presidential conventions, the CBC fall conference, the national ASA conference, CPAC and the NRA conference.
Media: In Colorado I was on three (3) local TV stations clips..one of which went national Fox News for 24 hours. http://www.fox21news.com/news/story.aspx?id=821424#.Ui2w19KOSbZ I was in at least 3 major newspaper articles with fotos.
At CPAC I was interviewed for a 6-8 blogs and minor media. www.BuzzFeed.com being the biggest coup having my foto displayed + Reason TV. I was quoted in Germany’s largest, daily newspaper.
Attending Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch continues to pay solid dividends. He asked me to present twice to the 150 conservative VIPs on Colorado & Washington MJ programs. Norquist also spoke at a reception in favor of the House bills to repeal federal, MJ prohibition.
COP raised $15,488 in fiscal year #4. Expenditures were $7,900.
COP stats since inception: August 2009
- 1297 Presentations to Congressional staffers..this week
- 58 interviews and reports in minor media = blogs, cable TV, weekly papers, etc.. this week
- 34 Appearances on major TV networks..this week(Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision)
- 22 published interviews in major (daily)newspapers or magazine… this week
- 72 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $70,000)
- 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
- 31 Radio Interviews.. this week
- 37 brief chats with Members of Congress..this week
- 40 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. this week
- 15 major conferences attended.. this week (CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions. etc)
- Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
Posted September 9th, 2013 by hiwayhowie
Annual Report of COP for the year 2011-2012
Summary: COP continued to provide a solid presence on Capitol Hill, making contact with all 535 offices. 295 presentations to staffers were made and four (4) major conferences were attended (CPAC,NRA, CBC, DPA). Two major papers wrote editorials based on Howard’s bicycle trip and related activities.
Factors reducing COPs effectiveness and exposure were Howard’s stroke early in 2012 and his subsequent leave of absence to ride his bicycle across America.
Media exposure was constant through-out the year, especially at the annual CPAC event. A YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aykf4437YTg was produced and seen by 18,000. A Spanish version is planned.
Total stats for COP in first 3 years:
- 944 Presentations to Congressional staffers
- 26 Appearances on major TV networks
- 14 published interviews in major (daily)newspapers
- 27 interviews and reports in minor media = blogs, cable TV, etc
- 66 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $65,000)
- 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning my efforts & in support of COP position
- 33 brief chats with Members of Congress
- 19 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, etc.
- 10 major conferences attended (CPAC, LULAC, NRA, etc)
- Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
Posted September 9th, 2013 by hiwayhowie
COP’s Annual Report: Year Two – August 2010 thru July 2011
COP provided an anti-prohibition, law enforcement voice on Capitol Hill and in the DC area the past twelve (12) months. The bread and butter – Congressional presentations numbered 209. This steady contact and presence in the halls of Congress reminded all of them that solid, law enforcement professionals oppose the current prohibition approach to some drugs.
This number -209 -reflected an election year where staffing on the Hill is in great flux for two months before and after the election. Also, Howard volunteered his services and horse to the cause of California’s Prop 19 for two months. NOTE: that project was in no way connected to COP. COP paid for no expenses related to that effort.
COP continued to attract and manage major media to its name and cause. The foto below was a two page centerfold for Reason magazine (leading Libertarian publication).
Major Accomplishments:
Repeal Bill: Most importantly, Congressman Barney Frank introduced HR 2306 in May 2011 – The Repeal Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011. Recall this effort started in the winter of 2010, when I called for a meeting (Whiskey Friday) of the major drug reform groups in DC. DPA, MPP, NORML, COP and SSDP all attended. We agreed that in the next Congress -112th– we would ask Mr. Frank to introduce a clean bill that would repeal federal prohibition of just marijuana. Another meeting in early 2011 reconfirmed this, when we met with Congressman Jared Polis’ in his DC office. The bill already has 17 Members on board and we expect more.
Conferences: Howard became the first, known legalizer to attend a NRA (National Rifle Association) national conference in an official capacity. Three days in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were spent basically saying, ‘You trust adults with deadly force. Therefore trust them with a green plant.’ That message made a lot of skeptics think and others come to our side.
LULAC (League of United Latino American Citizens) had a national conference in Cincinnati that Howard attended for two days. Wearing the COP shirt in Spanish and speaking it often, progress was made with many attendees. Again Howard was the first legalizer to attend the gathering of this important constituency.
CPAC – Conservative Political Action Conference was another love fest for three days in DC in February. Howard’s shirt was a magnet for about 150 chats and 10 media interviews. Young conservatives are now overwhelmingly on our side..Thank you Ron Paul and Gary Johnson.
Grover Norquist’s Brunch – Continues to provide high-profile contacts with national VIPs (on the conservative side). Howard meeting Republicans who are striving for Congressional offices is routine.
Second year stats: 209 presentations to Congressional staffers:
TV appearances: 14 … (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, etc)
Newspaper stories: 7 dailies, 3 weeklies
Radio appearances: 13 – this week
Published LTE: 20
Other media (bloggers, cable TV, minor publications, etc): 12
12 (Member of Congress) contacts:
COP total stats in first two years: August 1, 2009 thru July 31, 2011)
649 Presentations to Congressional staffers
22 Appearances on major TV networks
10 published interviews in newspapers
12 interviews and reports in minor media = blogs, cable TV, etc
57 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $56,000)
19 brief chats with Members of Congress
13 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, etc.
6 major conferences attended (CPAC, LULAC, NRA, etc)
Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 140 conservative VIPs.
Posted September 4th, 2013 by hiwayhowie
COP on the Hill
Stories from the week of August 30, 2013
Dear Boys and Girls,
You probably have heard/read that AG Holder has called the governors of Colorado and Washington informing them that the federal law enforcement is allowing them to go forward to open and operate stores to sell marijuana to adults. This concept includes those twenty (20) states which allow medical marijuana. In a nutshell States Rights has become the guiding principle for marijuana, as long as the states meet subjective, federal standards/controls (outlined below in a 4 page memo).
So, my work is done and Karen and I are moving to Texas.
NOT. In one day the ball moved from the 10 yard line to the 50. Lots of work left to do.
Our foes are in retreat. What do we do now? Pursue & Attack of course: It was appropriate how I learned of the Holder Memo. I was finishing up a presentation at a California office, when a staffer interrupted us with the news. I was stunned and my brain told me this must be an Onion report or National Enquirer hoax. Yours truly never expected the feds to completely and openly cave.
I went down the hall to the elevator where there is a large, wooden box which contains gas masks. I sat on it and read the 4 page memo on Twitter. I called Mark Stepnoski (retired center for the Dallas Cowboys who gave me my start as a lobbyist 10 years ago in Texas), briefed him and as I was saying thanks and good-bye, choked up. After hanging up, I cried for three minutes.
Of course I decided to take the rest of the day off, catch the early train home and celebrate. As I took 20 steps in the direction of the train, I realized the amount of work left to go. I am a military history buff and I recalled how after Gettysburg, General Meade failed to pursue General Lee and force his surrender…and the blood continued to flow like a river for two extra years…. I got my list of offices I needed to see, made 3 more presentations and caught the late train home as planned.
This week’s stats:
- 1355 Presentations to Congressional staffers..20 this week
- 32 Radio Interviews.. 01 this week
-
COP stats since inception: August 2009
- 61 interviews and reports in minor media = blogs, cable TV, weekly papers, etc.. this week
- 34 Appearances on major TV networks..this week(Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision)
- 22 published interviews in major (daily)newspapers or magazine… this week
- 72 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $70,000)
- 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
- 37 brief chats with Members of Congress..this week
- 40 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. this week
- 15 major conferences attended.. this week (CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions. etc)
- Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
- Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 30 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. If you agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow and want to be a part of the solution… Go to:
Here is a summary of the Holder memo:
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Justice Department Announces Update to Marijuana Enforcement Policy
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an update to its federal marijuana enforcement policy in light of recent state ballot initiatives that legalize, under state law, the possession of small amounts of marijuana and provide for the regulation of marijuana production, processing, and sale.
In a new memorandum outlining the policy, the Department makes clear that marijuana remains an illegal drug under the Controlled Substances Act and that federal prosecutors will continue to aggressively enforce this statute. To this end, the Department identifies eight (8) enforcement areas that federal prosecutors should prioritize. These are the same enforcement priorities that have traditionally driven the Department’s efforts in this area.
Outside of these enforcement priorities, however, the federal government has traditionally relied on state and local authorizes to address marijuana activity through enforcement of their own narcotics laws. This guidance continues that policy.
For states such as Colorado and Washington that have enacted laws to authorize the production, distribution and possession of marijuana, the Department expects these states to establish strict regulatory schemes that protect the eight federal interests identified in the Department’s guidance. These schemes must be tough in practice, not just on paper, and include strong, state-based enforcement efforts, backed by adequate funding. Based on assurances that those states will impose an appropriately strict regulatory system, the Department has informed the governors of both states that it is deferring its right to challenge their legalization laws at this time. But if any of the stated harms do materialize—either despite a strict regulatory scheme or because of the lack of one—federal prosecutors will act aggressively to bring individual prosecutions focused on federal enforcement priorities and the Department may challenge the regulatory scheme themselves in these states.
A copy of the memorandum, sent to all United States Attorneys by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, is available below.
http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/3052013829132756857467.pdf
Marijuana Industry to Congress: Legalize Pot, Provide New Tax Revenue
As Congress wrestles with big budget cuts, marijuana businesses want to help out the federal government with a novel message: Tax us, please. Pot advocates say legalizing the drug and taxing it like alcohol would add billions to the federal treasury, McClatchy Newspapers report. Some analysts dismiss a pot tax bonanza as far-fetched. Still, the idea is stirring serious debate on Capitol Hill.
The Senate Finance Committee included marijuana taxes in an options paper on possible new revenue sources. In the House, one proposal would legalize pot, tax it, and regulate it nationally. The less ambitious Small Business Tax Equity Act would allow the Internal Revenue Service to give breaks on federal income taxes for marijuana businesses. Noting that pot remains a banned substance, Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron said, “If they don’t like the fact that they can’t take certain tax deductions because they’re in an illegal business, then they should go in some other business where they can take tax deductions.” McClatchy
