Posted March 11th, 2012 by hiwayhowie
- COP on the Hill
- Your Voice in the United States Congress
Very slow week: I was in the halls of Congress (House side) this week and despite putting almost 4 miles on my pedometer, I only had three meetings. The 100 offices left to do represent staffers who avoid me, ignore my email & phone requests for meetings etc.
About a dozen have told their receptionists that when you see a tall guy in a cowboy hat asking for a few minutes, always tell himI am in a meeting. After 6 years I am familiar with this…the majority of receptionists will go to the desk of the person I want & physically check.
The time is not a total loss. Upon seeing me (the hat), brand identification kicks in and our issue pops back in the mind of the staffers. This occurs in the hallways, in the lunch room, etc. One staffer and I chatted for 5 minutes about my latest 2306 informational email (sent to all staffers..see below). While speaking to the receptionist about 2306, the Congressman from Arizona was exiting his office. He took over. He said his office is aware of the bill & had made no decision yet. This does not count as a presentation, but it was something.
The Oppenheimer show I did is still not on their websiteL
- Stats for COP’s third year, started on August 1, 2011:
- 257presentations to Congressional staffers: 3 this week
- 9 Letter to the Editor: 0 this week (at bottom)
- 3 Major Television appearances (Univision, BBC): this week
- 16 Other media (blogs, cable TV, etc): this week
- 12 radio shows: this week
- 12 (Member of Congress or VIP) contacts: this week
- Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 140 conservative VIPs. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
- 3 Major conferences attended: Drug Policy Alliance International, the Congressional Black Caucus September conference & CPAC – Conservative Political Action Conference
- Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 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… Go to:
-
- www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or send a check to:
-
- COP
- POB 2902
- Washington, DC 20013
-
- If you have questions or comments, please send an email to: howard@citizensopposingprohibition.org
-
- 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
***this was sent to all House judiciary staffers ***
Estimates of consumption of marijuana & its tax potential in post-prohibition setting.
Per the 2007 National Survey of Drugs and Health* about 10% of adults are now & will be users of marijuana. (45,000 per Congressional District) On average, those adults are expected to consume 4.8 ounces (134 grams) per year. If taxed at a dollar/gram, a state would realize $134 per consumer or 6+ million per Cong. District..($900,000 per 100,000 population) A federal excise tax of 15 cents per gram would yield $20 per consumer per year or just over 1 billion dollars for the US Treasury.
- Formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). Conducted by SAMHSA.
NOTE: A 20 pack -containing 20 grams- of marijuana cigarettes would sell for about $30/pack which includes taxes. Current black market price for a gram of non-medicinal grade marijuana is 4 dollars or $80/pack. The illicit market will be hard-pressed to compete with legal marijuana, as people value quality control & consistent product. Moonshine whiskey can be bought for about half of the cheapest bottle in a store. Few people risk buying black market whiskey due to lack of quality control.
Federal and state expenditures to enforce Marijuana Prohibition
Per a study* done by Harvard economic Professor Jeffrey Miron state and local costs to enforce prohibition run about 5.3 billion. Federal costs are about 2.4 billion. Total: circa 8 billion dollars
NOTE: The Miron study did not take into account the police time spent on enforcement but no arrests were made i.e. cutting down a field of marijuana and no arrests made or searching 10 cars to find a baggie in one of them. Factoring this, enforcement costs rise to about 13 billion.
NOTE: What cannot be measured in dollars is the clogging of the nation’s courts with 800,000 marijuana arrests per year.
Another point that is difficult to measure is the economic impact on families of earning potential lost for having a conviction. See Pew study
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/report_detail.aspx?id=60919
This report prepared by:
Howard ‘Cowboy’ Wooldridge
Education Specialist – www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org
Washington, DC
Posted March 10th, 2012 by hiwayhowie
- Your Voice in the United States Congress
- Oppenheimer Show: I spent the whole week prepping* for the show. I had to drive to southern New Jersey (160 miles/275KM) for the taping. Jeff’s camera was of the TV quality needed + we spent three hours taping some short segments to answer FAQs in English and Spanish.
I was able to express all my main talking points. My speaking ability was good. I was frustrated only being able to understand Oppenheimer and one other panelist. When the others spoke, my oral comprehension was around 30% = terrible. So, I have decided to only improve my Spanish. This means spending zero time on French and German in which I will always remain fluent, just not sharp.
The program with the President of Guatemala, a member of the United Nations Drug Czar Office, a Florida professor and a rabid prohibitionist should aire this Friday…there are no subtitles in EnglishL:
| |
| Back to Washington next week. |
| A CPAC interview popped up in a newspaper in Portugal. See below.
I also had a letter to the editor published 3 times by a newspaper chain in Canada. See below. I am asking the editor of the chain if they will publish my 750 word oped. |
| |
- Stats for COP’s third year, started on August 1, 2011:
- 254 presentations to Congressional staffers: 0 this week
- 9 Letter to the Editor: 3 this week (at bottom)
- 3 Major Television appearances (Univision, BBC): this week
- 16 Other media (blogs, cable TV, etc): this week
- 12 radio shows: this week
- 12 (Member of Congress or VIP) contacts: this week
- Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 140 conservative VIPs.
- 3 Major conferences attended: Drug Policy Alliance International, the Congressional Black Caucus September conference & CPAC – Conservative Political Action Conference
- Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 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… Go to:
-
- www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or send a check to:
-
- COP
- POB 2902
- Washington, DC 20013
-
- If you have questions or comments, please send an email to: howard@citizensopposingprohibition.org
-
- 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
This text was published in a Portuguese newspaper. I think is about you.
Kind regards
José A Macedo
«”Conservadores como Rick Santorum acreditam que o governo deve entrar na sua casa e dizer-lhe o que fazer, ao passo que um libertário nunca faria isso”, diz Howard Wooldridge, 60 anos. Howard, um texano, tem botas e um chapéu de cowboy de palha. A T-shirt que veste sobre uma camisa e gravata tem gravada a frase: “Perguntem-me por que é que os polícias dizem: “Legalizem a marijuana.”” Desde que se reformou da polícia, Howard tem-se dedicado à defesa da legalização da marijuana em Washington. Não é a única coisa que o distingue da maioria dos participantes no CPAC: Howard, um libertário, atreve-se a criticar Ronald Reagan, figura heróica do conservadorismo americano. “A ironia é que Ronald Reagan, que toda a gente aqui pensa que é um semideus, disse que as palavras mais assustadoras na América eram: “Olá, sou do governo e estou aqui para o ajudar.” Mas Ronald Reagan também acreditava que o governo devia proteger as pessoas delas próprias. “Como estás a meter uma coisa no teu corpo que eu penso que é má para ti, vamos pôr-te na prisão. Vamos arruinar a tua vida com um cadastro criminal.” Nesse particular aspecto, ele era um liberal [de esquerda], um estadista-providência.” Howard admite, baixinho, que em
- 2008 votou “contra John McCain, em particular Sarah Palin”. “Ou seja, votei no outro tipo [Obama]. Mas não se pode dizer isso aqui, porque estas pessoas são tão fanáticas que preferem votar num neonazi antes de votar num democrata”, diz. O que é que ele faz aqui, se parece tão às avessas do típico frequentador do CPAC? “Para mudar as coisas, é preciso ir onde as pessoas discordam de nós.”»
http://www.publico.pt/Mundo/um-bom-conservador-e-dificil-de-encontrar-1534484?all=1
- Copyright: Almaguin News 2012
Contact: news@almaguinnews.com
Website: http://www.almaguinnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3732
Author: Howard Wooldridge, Co-Founder of LEAP – Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n139/a09.html?1195
- FORMER DETECTIVE WARNS OF PROHIBITION RISKS
To the Editor:
Speaking as a retired police detective, I learned up close and personal the horrific damage done by drug prohibition and the use/abuse of drugs. My colleague, Rick Dalton, was, I am sure, a fine officer but he must have flunked history and economics.
Drug prohibition causes the massive crime we must deal with. The use of marijuana generated zero calls for service during my 18 years on the street. The use of alcohol generated about 1,300 calls including rape, child abuse, murder, suicide, assault, etc. Still, marijuana is too dangerous to leave its production and sale in the hands of criminals, gangs and teenagers…as those encouraging prohibition want to do.
Howard Wooldridge,
Detective/Officer Howard Wooldridge ( retired ),
Co-Founder of LEAP – Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Washington, DC
Posted March 9th, 2012 by hiwayhowie
COP on the Hill
Your Voice in the United States Congress
This week was spent catching my breath and catching up on all the paper/computer work associated with CPAC. Of course I attended the Grover Norquist brunch but otherwise, I was chained to my desk. I did two radio shows & had a letter to the editor published in Colorado.
I had intended to spend every day next week on the Hill, as the Congress is out of session. But then the phone rang:
Next Thursday the 23rd I will drive to New Jersey to be part of a panel discussion on legalization of all drugs. Included on the panel will be the President of Guatemala (see below for more) and a member of our Drug Czar’s office. Andres Oppenheimer of the Miami Herald has a TV show ‘Oppenheimer Presenta.’ We are all going to be taped remotely, send in the film and the show airs about a week later…into on average 20 million households in Latin America and Europe. I will advise on how/when to view it.
To prep for the debate I am being coached for two hours by Dan Robelo of the Drug Policy Alliance, as the debate is in Spanish. He can correct any mistakes this gringo might make.
This may well be the most important event for me this year, so I don’t want to have an ‘ooops’ moment like Gov. Perry did. Also, I saw Newt Gingrich on Spanish TV, admitting his Spanish was not really that good. He had to do the interview in English.
Below are some more of the media from CPAC. By the way, I forgot to mention that a former, recent Speaker of the Michigan House sought me out and we had an excellent 10 minute chat at CPAC. He is ready to legalize everything today. Small steps.
Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina is again speaking out on drug legalization. He said in a Saturday radio interview that he would propose legalizing drugs in a forthcoming meeting with regional leaders, and he specified that that included decriminalizing the transport of drugs through the Central American isthmus.
Stats for COP’s third year, started on August 1, 2011:
254 presentations to Congressional staffers: 0 this week
6 Letter to the Editor: 1 this week (at bottom)
3 Major Television appearances (Univision, BBC): this week
16 Other media (blogs, cable TV, etc): this week
12 radio shows: 2 this week
12 (Member of Congress or VIP) contacts: this week
Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 140 conservative VIPs.
3 Major conferences attended: Drug Policy Alliance International, the Congressional Black Caucus September conference & CPAC – Conservative Political Action Conference
Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 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… Go to:
www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or send a check to:
COP
POB 2902
Washington, DC 20013
If you have questions or comments, please send an email to: howard@citizensopposingprohibition.org
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.
Website: http://www.postindependent.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/821
Author: Howard Wooldridge
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n103/a06.html
LEGALIZE POT AND GET RID OF BLACK MARKET
Writing from my perspective as a retired street cop, the Feb. 5 article by Rebecca Jones, “Valley teen: Marijuana is widely available,” demonstrated the need to treat marijuana like alcohol, that is, legal, regulated and taxed. Kids are not selling beer and cigarettes in school, just an illegal drug like marijuana.
Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers don’t ask for identification for age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult sentences. So much for protecting the children.
No teen should have the job option to sell drugs. To help our kids, we should repeal this marijuana prohibition today.
Howard Wooldridge
Golden
Posted February 19th, 2012 by hiwayhowie
New York magazine:
Cowboy Cop Makes the Conservative Case for Marijuana Legalization at CPAC
CPAC interview: former cops lead fight against “war on drugs” racket …
By Joel McDurmon
Howard Wooldridge is one of many retired police officers with LEAP—Law Enforcement Against Prohibition—who are fighting to expose and end the racket that is our nation’s “war on drugs.” And a racket it is. You may not be surprised to learn …
American Vision News
