COP on the Hill: Stories from the week of March 2 & 9, 2018

COP on the Hill:
Stories from the week of March 2 & 9, 2018

These two weeks were filled with sick days. A bit of the flu and it left me with no energy, no voice. Shucks. I did go to two meetings at Grover ( I wore a mask). I had a good chat with a guy running for Congress and another with a woman running for the House in Ohio. Nurse Cratchett (AKA my wife Karen) ordered me to bed rest and that was that.

At Grover’s I had a 10-minute chat with a guy putting together a briefing in the House on the nexus of terrorism / Hezbollah being financed by the sale/traffic in illegal drugs. He agreed at the outset how legalization would cut off this billion dollar + stream of money. No convincing needed. He added that the power structure in Congress is nowhere near allowing a macro discussion on our Drug War.

This is part of a memo from my NORML colleague Justin Strekal…it articulates what I have been saying about how we are coordinating our efforts and intelligence in DC for the first time ever.

“To the best of my knowledge, we’re entering into an unprecedented level of cooperation between the advocacy community and industry when it comes to addressing policy at the federal level. By dividing the appropriations committee among us, we will ensure that each office is hit at least once and by the individual who has the deepest ties with that office.

Between the economic incentive of the newly state-legal marketplaces and the non-profit forces assembled representing patients, social justice, criminal justice, and civil rights constituencies, we have a real shot to break new ground here by moving our shared federal priorities through the committee process due to the unprecedented obstructionism displayed by Rules Chair Pete Sessions. “

This week’s stats:

239 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. 02 this week (candidate running for Congress & one for state House in Ohio)

Meetings – 3

COP stats since inception: August 2009
152 interviews and reports in minor media = 0 this week.
2709 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 0 this week
254 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 0 this week
Weekly attendance at Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
* 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
84 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $83,000) 0 this week
43 published interviews/foto in major (daily) newspapers or magazine… 0 this week
75 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media. This week (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, German, Swiss. French TV and radio) 0 this week
28 major conferences attended – (United Nations drug conference, CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc.) 00 this week
83 Radio Interviews. 0 this week

* Consider being a member of COP at $40.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 40 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. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org

COP on the Hill: Stories from the week of February 23, 2018

COP on the Hill:

Stories from the week of February 23, 2018

Tuesday: I was invited and spoke at a Senate briefing dealing with our Veterans and medical marijuana.

Wednesday – Saturday CPAC: Is 7,000 rabid Conservative Republicans who meet for 3 ½ days every year to listen to ‘red meat’ speakers. This year the meat was even bloodier than usual. I did boo loudly and alone, when a speaker for the NRA said the MSM loves to hear of a school massacre.

I was modestly successful with media exposure. See below. My petition to CPAC for a full discussion on the War on Drugs morphed into a 30-minute (very good) debate on Colorado legalization. I will make the 2019 petition in April.

I had a brief chat and card exchange with Fox News Eric Bolling. I had a 3-minute chat with Jordan Klepper of Comedy Central. Gary Johnson and I hugged and said hi. I had one TV interview for French and one for German television. Reason magazine published our interview. (at bottom)

As I walking out to my car to leave the event, I had a good chat with ‘Jack’ a White House advisor I have known for 8 years.

The cheerful news is that the vast majority of CPAC folks under 45 are ready to legalize/regulate marijuana today. The over 55 crowd is still solidly pro drug war. If looks could kill, I was dead many times over at CPAC, as I wore the ‘Legalize Drugs’ shirt.

I had dozens of students take my foto, selfies, etc. That is important for my spirit and much appreciated.

Last, thank you COP members… for your financial support. CPAC is pricey at about $2,400 (I did upgrade from Motel 6 to Super 8 this year)?…I buy the silver ticket to gain access to VIPs and it pays off.

This week’s stats:

2709 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 02 this week
239 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. 01 this week (candidate running for Congress)
152 interviews and reports in minor media = 03 this week.
43 published interviews/foto in major (daily) newspapers or magazine… 01 this week
75 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media. This week (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, German, Swiss. French TV and radio) 03 this week
28 major conferences attended – (United Nations drug conference, CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc.) 00 this week
83 Radio Interviews. 01 this week (Dean Becker show out of Houston)

Meetings – 2

COP stats since inception: August 2009

254 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 0 this week
Weekly attendance at Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
* 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
84 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $83,000) 0 this week
* Consider being a member of COP at $40.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 40 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. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org

https://reason.com/blog/2018/02/22/at-cpac-a-pitch-to-end-the-drug-war-its

At CPAC, a Pitch to End the Drug War: ‘It’s a Parkland, Florida, Every Two Days’
There’s little discussion of the war on drugs at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Howard Wooldridge wants to change that.
Eric Boehm A reporter for Reason.com

At the top of the escalators in the massive foyer of the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center, Howard Wooldrige is fighting to break the traditional link between conservatives, law enforcement, and the war on drugs. It’s an uphill battle.
At the moment, he’s debating a youngish attendee of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), who argues that the government has a role to play in preventing people from making poor life choices. Drugs ruin lives, the young man argues, and lives lost to drug use never blossom to their fullest potential, robbing society of what those individuals might have achieved. Wooldridge parries. If that’s true, he says, then locking drug users in prison is robbing us of what they might have accomplished too.
Wooldridge is literally inviting such debates. In a sea of business suits and red baseball caps, the retired police detective is wearing a cowboy hat, a massive silver belt buckle that proclaims him a “Lone Rider,” and a white t-shirt emblazoned with “Cops Say Legalize Drugs. Ask Me Why.”
But Wooldridge says he doesn’t feel like a lone rider at CPAC, despite the deeply conservative views of many attendees. Among the younger crowd—CPAC annually draws hundreds of college students—he feels like a little bit of a celebrity, happily taking pictures with what he says is the generation of conservatives who will redirect a misguided war on drugs.
“Jeff Sessions is a speed bump,” Wooldridge says. “It’s a question of when, not if.”
Attorney General Sessions, who has indicated an interest in cracking down on states where marijuana is now legal, is not scheduled to speak at CPAC this year, and the agenda generally steers clear of the drug war in favor of talk about immigration, the economy, “America’s enemies,” and bashing the mainstream media.
Perhaps that’s a sign of the changing times. Marijuana prohibition is no longer popular, even among conservatives. An October Gallup poll found record public support for legalizing marijuana, including a majority of Republicans. According to the survey, 64 percent of all American adults and 51 percent of Republicans think “the use of marijuana should be made legal,” up from 60 percent and 42 percent, respectively, last year.
Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), a group Wooldridge helped found (but is no longer directly affiliated with), has a formal presence at CPAC this year, with a table in the event’s huge exhibition hall. The message it’s trying to send to grassroots conservatives is a fundamentally conservative one. Muscular enforcement of drug laws, like Sessions and President Donald Trump favor, has not made America safer, LEAP representatives tell attendees. Instead it has wasted lives and untold amounts of tax dollars. Violence is standard practice in illegal marijuana markets, but it is virtually unheard of in legal businesses selling the drug.
Law enforcement should focus on stopping serious criminals, not “chasing a green plant and white powder and those who use them,” says Wooldridge.
Meanwhile, the bodies keep piling up. If conservatives, like the young man Wooldridge debated for about five minutes this morning, think legalizing drugs will ruin lives, they should take a hard look at what prohibition has done. The costs of enforcement and incarceration—in dollars and lives destroyed—are bad enough, but there’s also the never-ending violence created by the black market for illicit substances.
According to the latest statistics from the FBI, there were 604 juvenile gang-related killings in 2015 and another 468 killings related to illicit drugs that same year, yielding about 20 deaths per week from those two sources.
By Wooldridge own count—a figure based on his own research and analysis of drug- and gang-fueled crime statistics, he says—the number is higher, around 18 deaths every two days.*
“It’s a Parkland, Florida, every two days and nobody talks about it,” he says. “There is a thundering silence about this, both across the country and in Congress.”
*This story has been updated to clarify these statistics.

Published by Reason Magazine

This foto was published in NY Magazine and possibly others. We are singing the national anthem.

COP on the Hill: Stories from the week of February 16, 2018

COP on the Hill:

Stories from the week of February 16, 2018

Monday: 15 minutes of air time on Knoxville, TN Fox News affiliate re: marijuana prohibition

Tuesday: Rick Steves, PBS Travel Guru, gave a well-attended briefing in the Senate and one in the House. Recall he and I met in Atlanta. I gave him the updates on Swiss heroin treatment options.

Wednesday: Two meetings hosted by Grover Norquist. Received more info on the process for NRA to protect medical marijuana patients’ gun rights. Stay tuned.

Thursday: Business lunch with two officials of the German embassy. Heroin addiction treatment options in both countries were discussed, along with smuggling of drugs and weapons into Germany.

This week’s stats:

2707 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 07 this week
254 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 01 this week (Andy Harris R-MD)
238 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. 01 this week (candidate running for Congress)
82 Radio Interviews. 01 this week (Knoxville, TN: 92.3 FM, 760 AM Talk Radio)

Meetings – 5

COP stats since inception: August 2009

149 interviews and reports in minor media = 0 this week.
42 published interviews/foto in major (daily) newspapers or magazine… 0 this week
72 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media. This week (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, German, Swiss. French TV and radio) 00 this week
27 major conferences attended – (United Nations drug conference, CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc.) 00 this week
Weekly attendance at Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
* 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
84 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $83,000) 0 this week
* Consider being a member of COP at $40.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 40 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. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org

COP on the Hill: Stories from the week of February 9, 2018

COP on the Hill:

Stories from the week of February 9, 2018

If you are telling the truth, it is not bragging ( Texas Proverb): Thrilled, elated are inadequate words to describe this week. Friday morning on the 0802 train, I read in Marijuana Moment the oped in the Washington Times penned by x NRA Prez David Keane; regarding gun rights and medical marijuana patients.

Backstory -Recall this from November 3 Newsletter: Ray of Sunshine?: This week a VIP of the NRA asked me to write a 500 word oped for their magazine. The subject is when and if – gun owners have been denied the ability to buy a gun or ammo, due to being an MMJ patient. For the past six years the NRA has been ‘studying’ the situation.

I saw my words in print (about 1/3 of the oped). I choked up pretty hard but did not quite cry. You have read about the ‘small steps’ these past ten (10) years. Boys and Girls, IMHO this oped is one big leap towards ending the madness of the Drug War and MJ prohibition. IF & When the NRA backs the bill………..And it only took 10.5 years. Oped at bottom. I love the graphic… safe to open the attachment.

After the Wednesday meeting – I told Grover Norquist that, if and when the NRA backs the re-schedule bill, which would pressure R leadership to allow a vote, we could see the bill on Trump’s desk before the August recess.

As a COP member, I’m not saying you have to yell at the top of a tall building (like we do in Texas). Certainly, take a moment to appreciate your participation in the struggle for a better America.

This week’s stats:

2700 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 09 this week
253 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 02 this week (Paul Mitchell R-MI, Buddy Carter R-GA)
237 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. 02 this week (candidates running for Congress)

Meetings – 2

COP stats since inception: August 2009

81 Radio Interviews. 0 this week
149 interviews and reports in minor media = 0 this week.
42 published interviews/foto in major (daily) newspapers or magazine… 0 this week
72 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media. This week (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, German, Swiss. French TV and radio) 00 this week
27 major conferences attended – (United Nations drug conference, CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc) 00 this week
Weekly attendance at Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
* 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
84 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $83,000) 0 this week
* Consider being a member of COP at $40.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 40 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. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/7/marijuana-laws-and-gun-ownership/

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Advocates for and against the legalization of marijuana for recreational use have been sparring for decades in part at least because there are merits on both sides of the argument, but the same cannot be said about whether doctors should be free to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes.
Some states like California and Colorado have legalized the use of the drug for recreational as well as medical, but 30 other states have legalized it for medical use only. The Drug Enforcement Administration has, however, thus far refused to de-list marijuana as a Schedule I drug, which means that people in states where it is legal to get a prescription to use it as a pain killer are criminals in the eyes of the feds.
The federal government classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug nearly 50 years ago, classifying it as more dangerous than other controlled substances such as morphine, OxyContin and Vicodin. These are Schedule II drugs and can be legally prescribed by a physician. The DEA has the authority to reclassify marijuana by regulation, but has yet to do so, prompting some in Congress to support legislation that will reclassify it so that it too can be prescribed.

The Schedule I classification has caused real problems for gun owners in states that have legalized its use for medical purposes because the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives defines anyone with a medical marijuana prescription as an admitted drug user prohibited by definition from owning, possessing or using a firearm. In some states federal law enforcement officers have threatened to go after either gun owners with a prescription or firearms dealers or private sellers who dare to sell them guns.

The late Lyn Nofziger, one of President Ronald Reagan’s closest aides, argued for the legalization of medical marijuana when he and his family discovered that it was the only thing that seemed to ease the suffering of his cancer-stricken daughter. He joined others on the right and left as well as medical experts urging the states and the federal government to allow physicians to prescribe marijuana for patients who could benefit from its use, believing that like morphine and other controlled substances marijuana should be available by prescription to those who might benefit from its use.
The refusal of the federal government to accede to the judgment of the states on the issue has created problems for tens or even hundreds of thousands of gun owners who are being forced to either trade their Second Amendment rights for a chance to live pain-free or risk prosecution and imprisonment.

A Nevada woman seeking to buy a gun from a Carson City retailer in 2011 was turned down because the gun store’s owner knew she had recently received a medical marijuana prescription and had days earlier received a ATF notice warning that licensed dealers “may not transfer firearms or ammunition to” holders of medical marijuana prescriptions. She went to court, but was finally told that as long as the federal government lists marijuana use in any form as a dangerous drug, those using it can be classified as “prohibited persons” with no Second Amendment right to buy or possess a firearm.

Last year, the Honolulu police sent every registered gun owner in the city who had been given a marijuana prescription notice that they would have to surrender their guns and ammunition to the police within 30 days. The notice was later rescinded, but was a stark reminder that gun owners with a marijuana prescription are truly at risk.

State law enforcement officials are in a quandary as to which laws to enforce and as a result no one knows what to expect. In Oregon, a sheriff denied several concealed carry applications because he believed possession of a medical marijuana card was an admission of illegal drug use, while an Arizona gun owner who asked the Phoenix police if she had a problem because she has a medical marijuana prescription was told she was fine as long as she doesn’t run into a “federal” officer or get caught on federal land with both a gun and a prescription card.

Since gun purchasers must sign a form swearing they are not habitual drug users, a holder of a marijuana prescription cannot both answer the question honestly and buy a firearm today from a gun dealer anywhere in the country.

Trading a constitutional right for pain relief is a choice no one should have to make.

• David A. Keene is an editor at large of The Washington Times.

COP on the Hill: Stories from the week of January 26, 2018

COP on the Hill:

Stories from the week of January 26, 2018

COP and Heroin Treatment Options: I spent part of the week meeting with health staffers, explaining the Swiss MAT (Medication Assisted Treatment). I will finish next week, making contact with a total of 76 offices.

Satisfying weekly Mexican food fix pays dividends: Sitting on a stool next to the cash register, means every customer reads the shirt. Two weeks ago a guy engaged me, asking why. We finished our chat, with him saying I had to talk to his father in law, the House Delegate. On Saturday afternoon the MD Delegate and I sat down at a coffee house. He started out as a ‘hell no’ and finished with “I have much to digest.”

BTW, his big concern was the ‘Gateway Fact.’ Response: it is easier for a 14 y/o to buy pot than beer. So, taking that marijuana is definitely a gateway drug, how does prohibition help? He had no response. (winning a debate point, does not equal he has rejected the Gateway Theory…but it does make one reflect)

This week’s stats:

2686 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 11 this week

233 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. 03 this week ( 2 candidates running for Congress & a MD House Delegate )

Meetings – 2

COP stats since inception: August 2009

253 personal chats with a Member of Congress… this week
80 Radio Interviews. this week
149 interviews and reports in minor media = 0 this week.
42 published interviews/foto in major (daily) newspapers or magazine… 0 this week
72 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media..This week (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR, German, Swiss. French TV and radio) 00 this week
27 major conferences attended – (United Nations drug conference, CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, Republican Annual Retreat etc) 00 this week
Weekly attendance at Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”
* 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
84 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $83,000) 0 this week
* Consider being a member of COP at $40.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. 40 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. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org