COP on the Hill: Stories from the week of October 27, 2017

COP on the Hill:

Stories from the week of October 27, 2017

Grunt work:

I spent the week in the House Cannon building educating the offices on the whys the police industry fights legalization. That means I opened 111 doors. On the back side were the reasons now about 40% of us want to have a legal, regulated marijuana industry. (see below)

This week’s stats:

2583 Presentations to Congressional staffers… 23 this week
232 personal chats with a Member of Congress… 03 this week
2 meetings
218 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. 01 this week (Lt. Gov. of Ohio, Mary Taylor)

COP stats since inception: August 2009

149 interviews and reports in minor media = 0 this week.
79 Radio Interviews. 0 this week

84 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $83,000) 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 (CPAC)
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
* 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. www.citizensopposingprohibition.org

Reasons Police Officers do not want MARIJUANA legalized:
1.Money: nationwide -the police earn via wages and overtime circa 11-13 billion per year, due to marijuana being illegal. Fear of layoffs due to legalization.

2. Money: the police earn circa five (5) billion from civil asset forfeiture. Marijuana arrests consistently constitute half of all drug arrests, thus half of the money.

3. Ability to Search: Using marijuana smell as an excuse/lawful reason, officers are able to search essentially any vehicle or person they come in contact with. With legalization – this ability will be severely restrained…as we already see in Colorado.

4. Emotional: Officers who have buried colleagues (essentially every cop in the USA), due to a drug raid, shot at a traffic stop involving drug trade – these officers do not want to confront the emotional trauma their partner, friend, colleague died “for nothing,” in vain.

5. Racist cops want this tool (prohibition) to hurt people they don’t like.

6. Cognitive Dissonance: For 80 years Law Enforcement has demonized marijuana, up to including being as dangerous as heroin. To admit they were wrong, is often impossible for them.

7. In order to be promoted, street cops know they need high arrest numbers. Marijuana arrests are / can be numerous, easy to find and with minor, personal risk.

List prepared by Detective Howard J. Wooldridge, Bath Township, Michigan (retired)

The Reasons police officers WANT to legalize/regulate marijuana:(this is going to all Members of Congress next week)

1. Most officers did not sign up to spend so much time on a green plant, possessed by otherwise law-abiding citizens. We want to catch ‘bad guys’ – not some kid who has a joint.
2. Public Safety will improve. Currently the profession spends about 10,000,000 hours to look for, arrest and prosecute MJ cases. 90% of the cases are simple possession. Detectives flying around in helicopters, are not arresting pedophiles in social media, etc. We all know personally and professionally that MJ use is dramatically less dangerous to society than alcohol.
3. Greater Respect for the police and our system of laws. Stopping millions of citizens per year, searching their cars and persons for a bit of God’s green plant infuriates nearly everyone. The police are seen as oppressors of people who are not harming others. The hypocrisy that whiskey is legal and MJ is not – this is lost on no one.

The police are known and widely believed to lie about the smell of marijuana, in order to search a person or vehicle. This is a form of corruption which is not necessary in a post-prohibition world. This behavior hurts police-community relations.

4. Reduce contacts between citizens and the police. Legalization is already reducing friction in states like Colorado.
5. Help unclog our court systems.
6. Some officers are concerned about the racist implementation of MJ prohibition.
7. your idea here.