Cops on the Hill:     Stories from the weeks of Sept 9 and 16, 2022

 Frustration:   The House and Senate office buildings have been closed to citizen lobbyists like me since March of 2020…Nancy dropped the mask requirement in the spring of this year.  Per my Member, she is still afraid of an insurrection, despite now having a President who would not let that happen.  Until I am allowed back in the buildings, I am unable to do an adequate job.

Plz do what I just did.  Tell your Members to urge Nancy and Chuck to allow the public back into the buildings.

Regarding the last missive, COP member William Maner has an excellent analysis of why former addicts often oppose legalize/regulate…at the bottom..thanks William.

Hi, Howard:

My understanding is that many so-called “former” addicts (sometimes referred to as “non-using” addicts) have been so heavily indoctrinated in treatment programs, and sometimes also by a few misguided church pastors that misapply the Bible, that the former drug-users actually believe that drug use is a reprehensible act that should only and always be punished – a “crime” or a “sin”. But that attitude flies in the face of reality, whether you are coming from a medical or a moral angle:

1.) From a medical perspective, as you know, addiction is a disease, and people should not be harassed, persecuted, prosecuted, and incarcerated, or forced to receive treatment, for their own medical afflictions, any more than a diabetic should.

2.) From a moral perspective (at least from a Christian perspective), the Bible teaches MODERATION in “addictive” activities, which could include nicotine (tobacco), drugs, alcohol, excessive/obsessive use of electronics devices, sexual addiction, adrenaline addiction (race-car driving, free-climbing mountains, roller coasters, bungee jumping), the acquisition and pursuit of money, quest for power, etc.

There is nothing inherently criminal or sinful about any of those listed activities. God only says that EXCESSIVE engagement in those activities is a sin (Ephesians 5:18; and 1 Peter 4:3). Christ Himself made wine from water, so clearly He had no problem with drinking (John 2:7-11), which is a drug. Overindulgence, in anything, is the only moral issue the Bible points out, especially with regard to drugs.

But the “former” addicts often get an air of superiority, looking down their noses at still-using addicts. The reason: “Why don’t they just give up the drugs like I did?”, “I have no sympathy for people like that”, “If I had to quit using the drugs, then so should they – and if they don’t quit using drugs, then they are low-lives that just need to be punished”, “Punishing some people is the only way to MAKE them learn!”, etc.

I think it stems from the fact that the former users came to see their own selves as “bad” when using drugs in their past, so now they hypocritically take it out on those addicts who still use, and anything which the former-user (wrongly) interprets as “permissive” use of drugs (e.g. legalization, decriminalization) is an abomination to that thinking. In some ways, the former addict can be just as staunchly hypocritical, judgmental, intolerant, and condemning of drug use as can a traditional Prohibitionist!

Just my take on it…

William