Posted August 4th, 2011 by hiwayhowie
COP on the Hill
Your Voice in the United States Congress
Timing Matters: Busy week with 18 presentations. In two offices the Member returned from their duties as I was there. With a Florida Member I had a serious, 90 second chat. He indicated he would support the repeal bill. With the other from Indiana he asked how is it going? I replied I was about to sell his aide Christy some snake oil. Perhaps intrigued, he asked what that was. I outlined the repeal bill and he said he would take a look.
Both Members received a hand-written note on my personal/COP stationary. One is designed for Democrats and one is for Republicans, naturally.
Vacation minus one day: I spent the week with Karen’s family in a lake area in western Maryland. Karen was mostly successful in getting me to relax and NOT work…except for Tuesday. I spent the day preparing for a nationwide, Spanish television talk show. My thanks to Paul Armentano of NORML & Daniel Robelo of DPA who helped me prepare. The broadcast went well (link below). During the debate I was unable to find the correct word for “someone” when asking for someone to call in and tell us any benefit, any advantage to marijuana prohibition. I ended up saying some person, any person.. Grrr.
http://youtu.be/rNkHFWgUCPA debate marihuana segunda parte
Two published letters to the editor below.
COPs 2nd year stats to date:
197 presentations to Congressional staffers: 18 this week
TV appearances: 13 … 1 this week (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, cable)
Newspaper stories: 7 dailies, 3 weeklies
Radio appearances: 13 – this week
Published LTE: 19 (2 this week) –both below
Other media (bloggers, cable TV, minor publications, etc): 12 (this week)
11 (Member of Congress) contacts: 2 this week
5 other VIP (MD state Senator & Rep):
*******************************************************************************
Porterville, CA Recorder
POT HARVEST
Editor,
Speaking as a retired street cop, the amount of time and money going after the marijuana crop is a horrific waste of taxpayer money. Pot has been readily available to kids for over 30 years, despite the pinpricks in supply reduction.
As the “Thin Blue Lines” get thinner, I hope my colleagues will focus their attention on pedophiles, drunk drivers and other public safety threats.
Got a problem with marijuana? See an addiction doctor.
Howard Wooldridge
******
Free-Lance Star, VA
YES, DONNIE, WE SHOULD END THE WAR ON DRUGS
Speaking as a retired detective, I heartily agree with the thoughts of Donnie Johnston [“Is it time for a truce in the war on drugs?” July 22].
My profession has spent just over a trillion tax dollars on the war on drugs. The results? Drugs are cheaper, stronger, and more readily available to our teens.
Prohibition is the prime driver of felony crime in the U.S. Millions of good citizens have been made victims because a crackhead needs $200 a day.
Seriously, if Charlie and his friends die from cocaine, who cares? My sympathy is with the homeowners whose homes are broken into.
About 98 percent of us do not need a law to keep us from using hard drugs. Will we ever be as wise as our grandparents and repeal prohibition? Or will we waste another trillion dollars just to see what happens?
Howard Wooldridge
Buckeystown, Md.
Posted July 22nd, 2011 by hiwayhowie
Your Voice in the United States Congress
Stories from the week of July 15, 2011
Careful on the send button: I sent the staffer the standard request for a first time meeting. His response to his boss was:
Heather,
This guy continues to bug me. Shall I meet with him or tell him to go …. away? Andre
**my response back to him – Andre..
LOL…afraid you sent the note to me instead of Heather. No offense taken. I am a professional and never take it personally.
I can only add that I won’t ask for money & my interest is reducing crime, death, disease, drug use and saving tax dollars (we have wasted about a trillion so far).
**his respose to me: OK Howard,
You got me! Thanks for being the professional that you obviously are. So, when do you want to meet?
Rest of the Story – we met the next week and had an excellent chat.
Cold pizza and why I love my job: For lunch I sit at a table across from where Members and staff have their own checkout line, so they always see the hat. I get nods or a wave from staffers I know on a regular basis, sometimes a brief chat.
On Wednesday I squeezed in with 8 recent high school graduates in DC for an enrichment program. One asked what C O P on my name plate meant. 20 minutes of great discussion later, they left for a seminar. It was such a joy to chat with young people who were concerned about issues and their country. The conversation will be remembered long after the cold pizza.
Seeing it come together: What has five years of effort meant? These past few weeks have seen responses from staffers, as they received the information on the repeal bill. Like baking a cake, all one can do is put in all the ingredients and hope it tastes good. Here is a sampling of responses I received, keeping in mind I know some staffers deleted without reading. NOTE: The debt limit issue is sucking all the oxygen out of this town. We don’t expect Members to look at other issues, until this is resoloved. The comedians have scored big points that the House spent time on light bulbs this week.
A.Thanks Howard – this is helpful
B.Thanks Howard,
I will get this to my boss! …(who is a FL Republican)
C.Thank you very much, Howard. I will take this to my boss for his consideration.
D. Thank you Sir, we shall be in touch!
COPs 2nd year stats to date:
179 presentations to Congressional staffers: 12 this week
TV appearances: 12 … this week (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, cable)
Newspaper stories: 7 dailes, 3 weeklies
Radio appearances: 13 – this week
Published LTE: 15 ( this week)
Other media (bloggers, cable TV, minor publications, etc): 12 ( this week)
9 (Member of Congress) contacts:
5 other VIP (MD state Senator & Rep):
Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. Your support keeps the COP voice loud and strong in the halls of the United States Congress. We 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 772
Buckeystown, MD 21717
Posted July 19th, 2011 by hiwayhowie
COP on the Hill
Your Voice in the United States Congress
Stories from the week of July 8, 2011
Happy Birthday America: Besides enjoying the visit from my brother and his fiance (they live in Norway), we celebrated the 4th with fireworks at the National Mall/Washington Monument (foto below). Karen was a true ‘tour de force’ as more were asking her than me. Out of the crowd of 200,000 I would estimate some 5,000 read the shirts and together we had about 75 chats over a 5 hour period.
Time to get to work: The first half of the year I made presentations to most of the new offices and offices which had a new judiciary legislative aide. I did not want to visit offices that already had exposure to the COP message, until the bill was introduced. Now my goal is to meet with aides of the other 350 offices in the next six months. A Herculean task to be sure. Know I am pumped and psyched* to get the HR 2306 message out (within the confines of our non-profit status), like it was my first day on the job.
Silent no more: At Grover’s I was given the standard three minutes to present 2306. I had been waiting for over two years for my chance to talk. Afterwards a half-dozen expressed support for the bill and three said I should have talked more about job creation via hemp farming. Voila, I have asked my colleague, Ben Droz who is the industrial hemp lobbyist, to be allowed three minutes next week.
NOTE: A big thank you to COP member Rob Ryan and his wife Ilene for allowing me to stay in their home in Cincinnati for the LULAC conference. That his house was located five minutes from the express bus to downtown was a big bonus in convenience and saving $$.
*psyched and pumped = ganz begeistert mit viel Energie
COPs 2nd year stats to date:
167 presentations to Congressional staffers: 4 this week
TV appearances: 12 … this week (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, cable)
Newspaper stories: 7 dailes, 3 weeklies
Radio appearances: 13 – 1 this week
Published LTE: 15 ( this week)
Other media (bloggers, cable TV, minor publications, etc): 12 ( this week)
9 (Member of Congress) contacts:
5 other VIP (MD state Senator & Rep):
Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. Your support keeps the COP voice loud and strong in the halls of the United States Congress. We 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 772
Buckeystown, MD 21717
Posted July 18th, 2011 by hiwayhowie
Your Voice in the United States Congress
Stories from the week of July 1, 2011
You rocked: A breakout session at LULAC attended by about 80 dealt with how Latino parents could help their kids learn and stay in school. I pointed out three items which hurt that effort: 1) dads can not check homework and go to PTA meetings when they are in jail or dead from selling drugs. 2) kids know that if they fail in school, they can always get a job selling drugs and 3) their role models in the barrio are too often the ‘successful’ drug dealers. The federal bureaucrat to whom I addressed that concern was speechless.
A few hours later a guy stopped to shake my hand, saying, “you rocked” and my commentary was spot on. Small steps.
?Cómo se dice? *Groping* in the dark? My Spanish was good, my talking points prepared but it wasn’t until the end of the second day, I learned how to approach my issue with a Latino audience. Yes, I spoke of how legalize/regulate would help young people. Yes, I avoided talking of money savings because social conservatives don’t care much about money (as long as they think it does some good). However, I was right to feel that I was not being as effective as possible.
I asked several attendees how to approach a Latino. Finally, I received what I now believe is good advice….Latinos, especially first and second generations, are mistrustful of people trying to ‘help’ them, change their minds, vote for this/that. Worse, as a police officer, they often have a deep-seated* mistrust of the police because of the ‘mordida’ = the bribe cops want. The first order of business is establish some trust. This meant making statements which the listener would know to be true. Going forward, the first words out of my mouth are:
Latino youth are arrested for drugs three times more than whites.
- Marijuana is too dangerous to leave in the hands of criminals and narcotraficantes.
- Latino youth have a job option to sell drugs, a job which gets them sucked into a gang, a life of crime or shot and killed.
These statements (I have double checked with several Latinos) ring true to the Latin ear. From there I can go into the topic of prohibition and the need to end it.
PS. I am preparing a formal report to all drug reform groups on what I learned at the LULAC conference. As far as I know, no one from reform had ever bothered to attend the national conference of the largest minority group in America.
NOTE: The day after I left for my godson’s wedding, Congressmen Frank and Paul introduced the ‘Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011′. The bill # is HR 2306. The battle is engaged. A full copy of the bill is provided at the bottom. Also is an editorial from the conservative, national magazine – National Review. The four main points are:
Empowers the States to choose their own path on all aspects of the marijuana plant (industrial hemp, medicinal use, handle it like beer)
- Takes marijuana out of the schedule of controlled substances and treats it the same as alcohol.
- Changes penalties in federal code to match those of alcohol.
- Makes it a federal crime to transport marijuana from a state where it is legal to a state which prohibits it.
*Cómo se dice = how do you say
*groping = im dunklen tappen
*deep seated = tief
COPs 2nd year stats to date:
162 presentations to Congressional staffers: 7 this week
TV appearances: 12 … this week (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, cable)
Newspaper stories: 7 dailes, 3 weeklies
Radio appearances: 12 – .. this week
Published LTE: 15 ( this week)
Other media (bloggers, cable TV, minor publications, etc): 12 ( this week)
9 (Member of Congress) contacts:
5 other VIP (MD state Senator & Rep):
Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. Your support keeps the COP voice loud and strong in the halls of the United States Congress. We 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 772
Buckeystown, MD 21717
H.R.2306 — Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011 (Introduced in House – IH)
HR 2306 IH
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2306
To limit the application of Federal laws to the distribution and consumption of marihuana, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 2011
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. PAUL, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. POLIS, and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To limit the application of Federal laws to the distribution and consumption of marihuana, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011′.
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT TO MARIHUANA.
Part A of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`SEC. 103. APPLICATION OF THIS ACT TO MARIHUANA.
`(a) Prohibition on Certain Shipping or Transportation- This Act shall not apply to marihuana, except that it shall be unlawful only to ship or transport, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, marihuana, from one State, Territory, or District of the United States, or place noncontiguous to but subject to the jurisdiction thereof, into any other State, Territory, or District of the United States, or place noncontiguous to but subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or from any foreign country into any State, Territory, or District of the United States, or place noncontiguous to but subject to the jurisdiction thereof, when such marihuana is intended, by any person interested therein, to be received, possessed, sold, or in any manner used, either in the original package or otherwise, in violation of any law of such State, Territory, or District of the United States, or place noncontiguous to but subject to the jurisdiction thereof.
`(b) Penalty- Whoever knowingly violates subsection (a) shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.’.
SEC. 3. DEREGULATION OF MARIHUANA.
(a) Removed From Schedule of Controlled Substances- Schedule I(c) of section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) is amended–
(1) by striking `marihuana’; and
(2) by striking `tetrahydrocannabinols’.
(b) Removal of Prohibition on Import and Export- Section 1010 of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960) is amended–
(1) by striking subparagraph (G) of subsection (b)(1);
(2) by striking subparagraph (G) of subsection (b)(2); and
(3) by striking paragraph (4) of subsection (b).
SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.
(a) Section 102(44) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(44)) is amended by striking `marihuana’.
(b) Part D of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841 et seq.) is amended as follows:
(1) In section 401–
(A) by striking subsection (b)(1)(A)(vii);
(B) by striking subsection (b)(1)(B)(vii);
(C) by striking subsection (b)(1)(D); and
(D) by striking subsection (b)(4).
(2) In section 402(c)(2)(B), by striking `marihuana’.
(3) In section 403(d)(1), by striking `marihuana’.
(4) In section 418(a), by striking the last sentence.
(5) In section 419(a), by striking the last sentence.
(6) In section 422(d), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking `marijuana’.
(7) In section 422(d)(5), by striking `, such as a marihuana cigarette,’.
SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION.
No provision of this Act shall be construed to affect Federal drug testing policies, and each Federal agency shall conduct a review of its drug testing policies not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act to ensure that the language of any such policy is in accordance with this section.
Right on Marijuana – The Editors of the National Review: June 27, 2011: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/270520/right-marijuana-editors
The War on Drugs, which is celebrating its 40th year, has been a colossal failure. It has curtailed personal freedom, created a violent black market, and filled our prisons. It has also trampled on states’ rights: Sixteen states have legalized “medical marijuana” — which is, admittedly, often code for legalizing pot in general — only to clash with federal laws that ban weed throughout the land.
That last sin is not the War on Drugs’ greatest, but it is not insignificant, either. A bill introduced by Reps. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) and Ron Paul (R., Texas) would remove the federal roadblock to state marijuana reform, and though the Republican House seems almost certain to reject it, the proposal deserves support from across the political spectrum.
While we would support the total demise of federal marijuana laws, this bill simply constrains the federal government to its proper role. The Constitution allows the federal government to restrict interstate commerce, and the federal laws forbidding the interstate transfer of marijuana would remain in effect. The feds would also still intercept drug shipments from other countries.
What would change is that states — if they so chose — could legalize pot that is grown, sold, and consumed within their own borders. The Supreme Court has said that the federal government may regulate not only interstate commerce, but any activity that has a “substantial effect” on interstate commerce. It has further asserted that pot that is never even sold, but grown for personal consumption and never crosses state lines, can in aggregate have such an effect and therefore may be regulated. But the Court has not said, as House Judiciary Committee chairman Lamar Smith wrongly asserted, that Congress must regulate so comprehensively.
In addition to bringing federal pot laws in line with the Constitution and allowing states to pass reasonable marijuana policies, this law would eliminate the frightening discrepancies between state and federal policies regarding “medical marijuana.” In a society under the rule of law, a citizen should be able to predict whether the government will deem his actions illegal. And yet in California and Montana, businesses that sell medical marijuana — an activity that is explicitly sanctioned by state law — have been raided by federal law-enforcement officers.
Public opinion is such that fully ending the drug war is not within the realm of political possibility. Returning marijuana policy to the states, however, is a workable idea, and it would mark an excellent first step toward real reform.
