When Howard received, "Misty at Liberty" he said to McCool, "I am deeply touched. I look forward to looking at it everyday. You captured the essence of the ride."

Your Voice in the United States Congress

COP's Stories from March 15 - April 5, 2013

My wife. I think I will keep her: It took Karen several efforts and she finally convinced me to buy the big ticket to CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference = 12,000 rabid conservatives). Note – it kills me to spend money, especially yours. My sister also nudged me to invest in the VIP ticket. It paid off. Chats with two (2) US Senators was just the beginning.

I did stay at the Motel 6 located about 6 miles from the conference and Subway was my lunch spot. It was a trio of 16 hour days = my voice was mostly gone as the conference ended + my energy level hovered at zero. Too many birthdays. Grrr. The purpose of going was to promote this issue by being visible amongst 12,000. Between the ‘cowboy’ persona and COP shirt, Mission Accomplished.

Sadly, no other drug reform organization sent a representative. I can only shake my head.

Shhhh: As Senator Marco Rubio was speaking, a cell phone went off 8 rows back. The older gentleman was speaking Spanish quite loudly. Finally after 45 seconds I went back to him and informed him in Spanish that he was bothering the others around him. He immediately began whispering and soon hung up.

Later that afternoon that gentleman was introduced at a VIP reception I attended. He was the father of Texas US Senator Ted Cruz. The host of the event insisted I meet Cruz Sr. and we had a nice chat. No hard feelings.

Two days later his son the Senator Cruz gave the closing speech at CPAC. I came early enough to claim the chair closest to the speaker – about 10 meters. After the speech he shook hands with some in the VIP section. (Continue)

Restore justice in America; construct science based drug policies about saving and rehabilitating instead of ruining lives. Support for the federal war on drugs is inconsistent with support for individual freedom, constitutional government and the teachings of Jesus.

James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution of the United States, said this: "We have staked the whole future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."

"In the end, however, no constitution can be self enforcing....For the Constitution will live only if it is alive in the hearts and minds of the American people." Roger Pilon, senior fellow and director of CATO's Center for Constitutional Studies.

The Cato Institute offers copies of its popular Constitution booklet. Phone Order: 1-800-767-1241

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SWISS HEROIN-ASSISTED TREATMENT 1994- 2008: SUMMARY

Overview: Due to the severe drug problem in Switzerland in the early 1990s, (rising number of injection drug users, visibility of open drug scenes, AIDS epidemic, rising number of drug related deaths, poor physical health, high criminality) the Swiss made a fundamental shift in approaching the problems caused by heroin addiction. The Swiss offer treatment-on-demand. Of an estimated 22,000 addicts, 16,500 are in treatment and 92% are given daily doses of methadone at conventional clinics. The Swiss treat about 1300 addicts with maintenance doses of heroin via 23 special clinics operating in cities and two prisons. The Swiss approach has resulted in lower rates of crime, death, disease, a drop in expected new users as well as an improvement in mental and physical health, employment and housing. The program has been copied by six countries: Germany, Holland, Belgium, England, Spain and Canada.

* To qualify for a heroin prescription: 1) at least 18 years old; 2) been addicted (daily use) for at least two years; 3) present signs of poor health; 4) two or more failed attempts of conventional treatment (methadone or other); 5) (Continue below)

(SWISS HEROIN-ASSISTED TREATMENT continues)

Surrender drivers license; 6) Heroin can only be obtained at the clinic and must be consumed on site (oral or injection). (Note: Under strict control and specific criteria [for example full employment] a few are allowed to take one oral dose daily away)

Patients can receive up to three doses of heroin per day. 60% take the heroin via needle injection, the rest via pill. The use of the oral pill is increasing.
Patients average about three (3) years in this plan. However, they may stay in treatment indefinitely. 20% of original patients are still in the program.
The vast majority of patients are satisfied or very satisfied with the program.
Average age of patient: 38 years.

*Crime Issues: 60% drop in felony crimes by patients. 82% drop in patients selling heroin.

*Death Rates: No one has died from a heroin overdose since the inception of the program. The heroin used is inspected for purity and strength by technicians.

*Disease Rates: New infections of Hepatitis and HIV have been reduced for patients in the program.

*New Use Rates: Lower than expected. 1) As reported in the Lancet June 3, 2006, the medicalisation of using heroin has tarnished the image of heroin and made it unattractive to young people. 2) Most new users are introduced to heroin by members of their social group and 50% of users also deal to support their habit. Therefore, with so many users/sellers in treatment, non-users have fewer opportunities to be exposed to heroin, especially in the rural areas.

*Cost Issues: 48 dollars/day: Patients pay from zero to 12 per day depending on their ability. Note: About 30% of patients work for a living and pay part of the costs. Note: The Swiss save about 30 dollars per day per patient mostly in lowered costs for court and police time, due to less crime committed by the patients.

** This summary was taken from five published reports. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health reviewed and approved its release. Additional questions should be directed to Dr. Dora Fitzli, the science and health advisor to the Swiss Ambassador at the Embassy. Her English is near native fluency. Tel: 202-745-7954

NOTE: This summary was researched and written by Howard J. Wooldridge of LEAP.

Who Supports the Drug War?

Ossama Bin Laden, President George Bush, The Ochoa Brothers, Congressman Mark Souder, Mexican Drug Cartels, DEA, FARC, National Association of Narcotics Officers, Canadian Cannabis Growers Association, Pharmaceutical Industry, Al Qaeda, Private Prison Association, Meth Makers of Mexico Association, John Walters (USA’s Drug Czar), MS-13 drug gang, California Narcotic Officers’ Association, Crips & Bloods, Deputy Chief Thomas Gorman of California, Pablo Escobars’ Amigos, Congressman Duncan Hunter, Columbian Coca Growers Association, Senator John McCain et al, Fundamentalist Christian Association, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Newsweek, Time

See a pattern here? Ever wondered why it has been so difficult to make even small changes in our policy of prohibition AKA War on People? The 10 major organizations which are trying to end the New Prohibition have a total budget of about 25 million dollars. The drug companies which fear God’s medicine, AKA marijuana, put that much in the freezers of politicians to stifle competition. Does Al Qaeda contribute to the Republican Party? If opposition to the Drug War continues to grow, Al Qaeda would be advised to funnel cash to prohibition politicians. Prohibition puts 3 billion in OBL’s hands every year. Putting 100,000 into a freezer is chump change compared to losing billions.

The California Narcotic Officers Association fears the loss of their paychecks, knowing that the sensible People of California would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana the day after the feds end the National Prohibition. Even if they did not lose their paychecks, they would be reassigned to go after drunk drivers, child predators and other public safety threats. That type of work is boring compared to kicking in a few doors a week, waving their guns around and arresting people. Heaven forbid they would have to take a stolen bicycle report!

MS-13 gang makes billions selling illegal drugs in the USA. They would not be happy to see the end of Prohibition. They would have to go back to landscape jobs! President Bush supports the Drug War to keep his Pharma Industry lobbyists happy. He views the weekly deaths of young teens who die selling these drugs on the sidewalk as ‘God’s Will.’ So no problem there. Mexican drug cartels enjoy the finest tequila and tacos in Mexico on the money they are making. As a bonus, their narco-dollars buy them influence at the Presidential Palace in Mexico City. The private prisons in the USA lobby for more mandatory drug sentences in order to keep their cash flow coming. The Meth Makers of Mexico make billions exporting their product into the US and Canada.

Congressman Mark Souder supports the Drug War because he uses it to get re-elected. “I am getting tough on drugs!” He has convinced the voters in Indiana that the 2nd trillion dollars spent on this policy will result in drugs being slightly less available to their kids. Ditto Congressman Duncan Hunter who has convinced his California constituents of the same thing. Our Drug Czar John Walters simply likes his government job with all the perks of flying around the world saying how much progress was made this year. He reminds me of General Westmoreland during the Vietnam War and body counts.

The growers of BC Bud are making billions exporting to the US the most potent pot on the continent. That industry now employs more people in British Colombia than mining or forestry. The Crips and Bloods make billions as a vertical monopoly buying in bulk and employing their members for the retail sales. Experts say that the economy of several large cities would collapse without the cash that the dealers generate for their home neighborhoods. FARC (guerrillas of Colombia) have been making billions protecting the Coca Growers of Colombia Association. FARC uses their profits to wage war on the Bogotá government.

Fundamentalist Christians are adamant that God believes the Drug War is just and righteous and that Jesus would also support it. Right. Jesus would put a cocaine user in the hell hole of a Texas prison for two years. NOT. ‘But it is immoral to use these drugs’ they say with indignation. When confronted with the fact that young teens die every week because the policy employs a million teens, they usually blame the parents for the deaths, not their support for the policy. Native Americans have used mind-altering substances for centuries. Is the Christian religion superior to their beliefs to the point that Indians should go to jail? NOT! WWJD?

The Washington Post, the New York Times, Newsweek, Time and US News & World Report all support prohibition. Could it be they do not want to upset the drug makers who take out 3-4 full page ads for their drugs? Money talks.

As you can see, the supporters of Prohibition Two are numerous and well-funded. Nonetheless, I will use my one-eyed horse Misty and my Stetson to promote the end of the most dysfunctional, immoral policy since slavery until it is in the history books, or I draw my last breath.

written by Howard J. Wooldridge

If you have 47 minutes: go to PRESSTV.

Click on ‘Programs’ located on the left side of the homepage near the top.

Click on ‘American Dream’

Click on 21 February: Human Rights in the US

US Representative Barney Frank has reintroduced a bipartisan federal bill to legalize "small amounts" of marijuana (cannabis) and make room for serious criminals. Representative Ron Paul is a cosponsor. This Texas straight talker says we are "politicizing pain." "The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009"- H.R. 2943.

“Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act”- H.R. 2835 which would allow the medical use of marijuana in states that have chosen to make its use for medical purposes legal with a doctor's recommendation. The debate over medical marijuana or cannabis is really a scandalous controversy over whether this very safe, effective, easy-to-grow herb should be allowed to compete with expensive dangerous pharmaceuticals

Harassing the sick and dying is an un-American activity.

Commissioned Art - Paintings and Sketches

"Once upon a time you or someone you love was a shining star! Commission a painting or sketch to commemorate that occasion! You can rest assured, it will not be forgotten! "

Dear Colleen:

We are witnessing a truly pivotal moment in drug policy reform. In just a few short weeks, California voters will have the opportunity to vote for Proposition 19: The Regulate, Tax and Control Cannabis Act of 2010. Prop 19 will put police priorities back where they belong by allowing law enforcers to do their jobs more effectively, ending the arrest of nonviolent marijuana users and making the streets safer for everyone. Whether you are a resident of California or not, Prop 19 affects all of us. The passage of this initiative would be a major victory for the drug policy movement and will impact every state, laying the groundwork for future reform and serving as a model for legalized regulation.

LEAP’s speakers, particularly those based in California, have been hard at work to support Prop 19. On September 13, LEAP held a press conference, which received significant media coverage, to announce our endorsement of the initiative. Since then, our speakers have been in high demand in the national and local California press to discuss Prop 19 from a law enforcement perspective. LEAP has also partnered with the Just Say Now campaign calling on President (Continue)

To make a contribution to LEAP, please click here. Read on for more about what our speakers have been doing in support of Proposition 19…

Sincerely,
LEAP Staff

Please view “The New Slavery”a video created by

LEAP Administrative Director Bill Fried which makes a dramatic link between

slavery and the war on drugs. The video is featured on our website and on You Tube.

 

 

Neill Franklin, Kyle Kazan and Judge Jim Gray on CNN

Retired Maryland State Police Major and executive director of LEAP Neill Franklin, former Torrance, CA police officer Kyle Kazan, and retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray appeared on CNN to discuss the urgent need for legalization and regulation.

 

Joseph McNamara and Norm Stamper on CBS Evening News and Fox News Channel

Former San Jose, California Police Chief Joseph McNamara and former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper – who spent 28 years of his law enforcement career with the San Diego Police Department – appeared on CBS Evening News in support of Proposition 19.

Chief McNamara also appeared on Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends to talk about why it’s time to legalize marijuana.

Stephen Downing on MSNBC

Retired Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Stephen Downing presents the case for legalization on MSNBC.please click here.

 

LEAP in the News in California

Retired Our speakers have been making waves in the local California media, and as election day approaches, LEAP's visibility continues to increase. Among the many news features on LEAP were Leo Laurence, a former deputy sheriff, recently featured on NBC News 11 as he spoke to students at Imperial Valley College in Imperial, CA, and former Sutter County, CA deputy sheriff Nate Bradley appearing on CBS 5 News.

To view more videos featuring LEAP speakers, please visit our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/copssaylegalizedrugs

 

LEAP Speakers Blog.

LEAP promotional DVD

LEAP website

Our host Drug Sense

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Questions or comments?

E-mail us at kristin.daley@leap.cc

LEAP is a nonprofit educational organization with Tax Exempt Status under United States tax code 501(c)3, Federal EIN: 16- 1645758.

Dispatches from the Front-line Continues

COP ON THE HILL (continues)

As he shook my hand he commented, ”Thank you for wearing that shirt.” I floated out of the hall, thanking Karen and my sister all the way.

I attended several other receptions/soirées, including Grover Norquist’s. All productive. Wearing dress pants & the shirt over my dress shirt and tie, I was able to combine the message and still be relatively well-dressed. Several said I was the most photographed person at the 12,000 person event. I passed out some 150 business cards and had my picture taken at least that much. Okay, whatever moves the needle. I had nine (9) in camera interviews of which only one – CBS – was a major one. Another 10 interviewed me for their paper/blog/not sure. One was The Times of London. Another was from Germany.

How to be quoted in Germany’s largest, daily paper?: The reporter from the Süddeutsche Zeitung (South German newspaper) was mostly interested on my take of the Iraq war. My quotes were about the war. On the positive side he mentioned I was a former police officer who wants to legalize marijuana. Note: I spend an hour every Saturday morning with a group that speaks German.

Aphoto of me is on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. No, the foto does not move our issue but I have developed a relationship with the photographer who sold the foto. Building relationships is, as you know, a large key to the overall effectiveness of COPs.

On the last day I went totally casual in shirt and jeans. Hit this Buzz feed link and scroll down to FAB: Legalize weed cowboy hat. For a glimpse of what CPAC is, the fotos tell the story. You go here, you’ll see the COP guy at the end of the second day…already tired. COP members tell me that BuzzFeed and TalkingPointsMemo are a big deal on the Internet. (Continue)

Very first day with signs in San Jose, CA

Leaving home: note new signs on back of pick up.

Leaving Maryland: the trailer generated a solid 100 honks and thumbs up across America

Restore Sanity Rally

Karen and I got away for a week to Puerto Rico.

The Insanity of Marijuana Prohibition in one foto!

We get by with a little help from our friends: I spent the week running at half speed to catch up on work and energy from last week’s CPAC. On Wednesday after the Grover Norquist brunch I did arrange a meet with a judiciary staff aide to Majority Leader Harry Reid. This visit was my 4th to this office, thus they are very familiar with the COP message. I also secured an invitation for the hemp industry lobbyist, Ben Droz, and shared my time with him. The 40 minute meeting was productive for both our causes.

No fire in the belly from the prohibition crowd: Tuesday was an all-day affair in Annapolis. A first ever legalize/regulate/tax marijuana bill had a hearing in the House judiciary committee. We had eight (8) solid witnesses for our side. The two that opposed (chiefs of police and states’ prosecuting attorneys) had no energy, used old clichés (marijuana is a dangerous drug) and lacked enthusiasm for what they were saying.

Before the hearing I was interviewed by two major TV networks at least one of which aired state-wide + two radio interviews. The Deputy Majority Whip of the State House of Delegates Cheryl Glenn read the back of my (Continue)

Lawman’s Blues

Few dare tell the truth about drugs

Salt Lake City Tribune editorial for May 13 2012

"You ask any DEA man, he’ll say, ‘There’s nothing we can do.’" — Glenn Frey, "Smuggler’s Blues"

Imagine a world where doctors were the only people who were not allowed to offer their opinions on medicine. Or where what farmers thought about agriculture was left unsaid for fear of public disapproval.

That, more or less, is the situation for law enforcement officers when it comes to any real conversation about how the United States deals with the problems associated with drug abuse. The ones who know from personal, and sometimes heart-breaking, experience just how futile the whole sad enterprise is are the ones who dare not speak out for fear of being seen as soft on crime.

There are, luckily, exceptions. One of them rode through Salt Lake City the other day, on his bicycle and on a lonely mission to show the American people just how wrong we are to continue to insist on taking a law enforcement hammer to a public health nail.

Howard Wooldridge is a retired Michigan police officer and a co-founder of the national organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.leap.cc). As he explained to The Salt Lake Tribune the other day — and to many others along his ride from Oregon to Georgia — the problems we associate with drug use are not caused by users.

They are caused by the laws, law enforcement officers, judges and, mostly, craven politicians who dare not see or tell the truth about how the ongoing prohibition of drugs is nearly as destructive and just as futile as was the prohibition of alcohol early in the last century.

LEAP favors the legalization, regulation and taxation of now-illegal drugs, along the same model as alcohol and tobacco. That may be too drastic for our culture to embrace all in one go. But even moving toward a decriminalization approach, which stresses education and treatment over arrest and incarceration, would be a huge improvement.

Alcohol and tobacco, of course, create a long list of serious social and health problems. But heavily armed drug lords and the destruction of civil society in parts of Mexico, clogged courts and packed prisons in the United States and street violence of the kind that claimed the life of an Ogden police officer only a few months ago are not among them..

If we took the undeniably huge problem of drug abuse away from the police and gave it to the doctors, where it by all logic and humanity belongs, we could save billions in law enforcement costs, spend millions on treatment, and take a huge step toward real national sobriety.

Annual Report: Citizens Opposing Prohibition – 2009/2010

The House Crime Subcommittee adjourned and I made contact with the Member who is the presumptive chairman, when the Republicans take control of the House in 2011. This was our sixth (6th) chat in three years. He had already agreed that current policy was ineffective but he asked, “What do we do? Just give up on these (addicts) people?” “No.” I replied, “But arresting them wastes precious police time. The government can not fix stupid. Only family and friends might have a chance.” He nodded and we chatted another minute. I knew his Chief of Staff was on board to end marijuana prohibition from a chat earlier this year.

This type of ‘Grass Tops’ contact is what COPs is all about. In our first year you kept an anti-prohibition, law enforcement voice on Capitol Hill and in the DC area, a voice which generates instant credibility. The transition from carrying a LEAP card to a COPs card was a smooth one. My cowboy hat and politics are what staffers and Members remember, not my card. COPs had ‘sit-down’ conversations with 443 Congressional staffers and chats with seven more Members. This steady contact reminded all of them that solid, law enforcement professionals oppose the current prohibition approach to some drugs.

Since 2005 I have been educating/advocating to Members and their staff for a drug policy commission, even before Senator Webb (D-VA) was elected in November 2006. These efforts bore fruit in 2009, when Webb introduced the National Criminal Justice Commission bill which cleared the Senate’s Judiciary Committee with a unanimous vote in early 2010. In the summer of 2010 the House passed the bill on a voice vote. Though it died during the lame duck session, it will be introduced again in 11. Through educational efforts these past five years, I have prepared the ground for the passage of the Webb bill. As members of Citizens Opposing Prohibition, you can take credit for the progress made in 2009 and 2010.

Moving forward into its second year, COPs is in poised to add to the progress already made and enter new areas. We will educate the Congress on the advantages of allowing the several States to set their own couse for drug policy, starting with marijuana. I will attend two, new national conferences in 2011: the LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens- similar to NAACP) and the NRA (National Rifle Association). As I have done the past five years, I will attend the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) and the three day conference in DC sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. Weekly, I attend the Grover Norquist brunch (120 conservative VIPs attending) and monthly I attend the Leadership Institutes’ breakfast which features conservative speakers, including Members of Congress. I will seek out and go to the groups who do not yet agree with our position on drug policy. We are adding speaking engagements to service clubs, churches and other community groups to our list of activities as well.

The ‘bread and butter’ of COPs will continue to be spending time in the Congress, meeting staff and Members. Ending federal drug prohibition is a crucial part of the national strategy. The prohibition crowd delights in repeating that federal law trumps any state law. I hope and trust you will continue to support these efforts.

Polyglot – short story: at 19 spent 3 months in Europe in 70…felt like illiterate ‘cause only spoke English. Came back to U and began German – became my minor. After 6 more months (2 trips) to mostly Germany = fluent German: Before starting LIFE, I wanted to be an average European which means 3 languages…so after graduation from Mich. State, made bunch of $$ driving a semi for United Van Lines, in Switzerland took intensive 3 month course in French and poof…tri-lingual…..police work needed Spanish = took junior college courses at night and then 3 months in Spain…poof…4 languages.

My 3 months of Arabic studies in Egypt resulted in being semi-fluent but have lost nearly all of it.. I could still piss off a terrorist on an airplane but not really carry on a conversation.

BTW, I also speak ‘horse.’…for that I needed to ride my pony across North America twice…13 months in the saddle. Okay- now I am bragging. LOL

Howard attended the 912 march on DC.

Citizens Opposing Prohibition

PO Box 772, Buckeystown MD 21717-0772 also POB 2902, Washington, DC 20013

One Lone Ranger Rides Again To Legalize Dope by Howard "Cowboy" Wooldridge

 

COP ON THE HILL (continues)

windbreaker out loud and then asked why. We had a solid 5 minute chat in her office. All in all a very productive day in Annapolis. (note: all the media interviews came as a result of my jacket ---whether it is ‘tacky’ or not is irrelevant. The jacket generates lots of free media for drug reform)

Thursday and Friday were spent on the computer, emailing staffers to set up appointments during Easter recess.

War Profiteers: Here is an excellent 5 minute read on how former law enforcement/drug warriors cash in for big $$ supporting drug prohibition.

Doin’ the work: This was the first of two weeks of Easter recess. Five days on the Hill and 29 presentations later I am pooped. I could nearly feel the leather falling off my boots. The lovefest with our issue continues, though I can report hearing the first full-throated defense of marijuana prohibition of 2013 (out of 164 presentations this year).

Making an impression: Twice this week I gave my presentation in Spanish. Good practice for me and certainly surprised others in the office (the aide and I spoke in the common area of one office with people coming and going).

I don’t communicate this to brag, rather to point out that our message and messenger being remembered is the ‘coin of the realm’ in Congress…with 25,000 full-time lobbyists and more than that citizen lobbyists coming in for a week at a time, being remembered is crucial.

Apropos, I made contact with one aide asking for the usual 15-20 minutes to introduce myself etc. He gently reminded me that we had met 4 years ago, when he was an aide in the Senate. THAT is what I am talking about.

Of note: After Grover’s brunch this weekend I had a brief chat with Reince Priebus, the head of the National Republican Party.

See Karen shaking her head: I made the mistake of whining to Karen I had 11 appointments on Wednesday….7 is my usual maximum, since it become very difficult to make all my points and not say the same thing twice…after 7. Oh well. I was able to speak clearly the whole day and survived a week of 33 appointments. I had a splash of Crown this week, as I was able to meet and chat with two Members of the House.

I was wrong: During my first year on the Hill a staffer informed me that his office was against my proposal for several reasons; one was that the marijuana industry would eventually want subsidies for their crops of hemp and MJ. I disagreed with him. He was right. I was wrong.

Recently an enthusiastic supporter of industrial hemp said we in reform should ask for cash supports for the hemp crop, until it could make a profit on its own. Oops. Right. Borrow more money from China to support sugar, cotton and HEMP growing.. Yikes!

COP stats since inception: August 2009

1193 Presentations to Congressional staffers..33 this week
33 Appearances on major TV networks..0 this week(Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision)
22 published interviews in major (daily)newspapers or magazine … 0 this week
54 interviews and reports in minor media = blogs, cable TV, weekly papers, etc.. 0 this week
71 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $70,000) = this week
2 editorials in daily papers mentioning my efforts & in support of COP position
28 Radio Interviews..0 this week
36 brief chats with Members of Congress..2 this week
38 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. 0 this week
12 major conferences attended (CPAC, LULAC, NRA, etc)
Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 150 conservative leaders. Named the “Grand Central Station of the Conservative Movement.”

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 and want to be a part of the solution… Go to: www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or send a check to:
Citizens Opposing Prohibition POB 543 Buckeystown, MD 21717

If you have questions or comments, please send an email to: howard@citizensopposingprohibition.org

 

Obama to join the debate about legalizing and regulating marijuana. To make your voice heard, please sign the petition here.

As Election Day draws closer, Proposition 19 has a majority of support in the polls, but the vote will be close. If you are a resident of California, please VOTE, and remind everyone you know to vote. Today, October 18, is the deadline for voter registration in California.

LEAP is at the forefront of drug policy reform, and our speakers have a credibility that cannot be ignored. Your genorosity sustains our work.

LEAP’s first-ever billboard, unveiled on July 15, 2008 in Omaha, Nebraska

To view Jack Cole’s blog on the United Nations Conference in its entirety, including photos from the conference, please click here.

Ask the DOJ to release more current stats: askdoj@usdoj.gov

Snap, Crackle, Pot

By Kathleen Parker

Friday, February 13, 2009

Drink and drive and it's grrrrrrrr-eat! Smoke pot and your flakes are frosted, dude. So seems the message from Kellogg's, which has decided not to renew its sponsorship contract with Michael Phelps after the Olympian was photographed smoking marijuana at a party in South Carolina.

That's showbiz, of course, but the cereal and munchie company had no problem signing Phelps despite an alcohol-related arrest. In 2004, Phelps was fined and sentenced to 18 months probation and community service after pleading guilty to driving while impaired. The silliness of our laws -- and the hypocrisy of our selective attitudes toward mood enhancers -- needs no further elaboration. Even so, things are getting sillier by the minute.

Sheriff Leon Lott in South Carolina's Richland County has now made eight pot-related arrests based on the snap that shot around the world. Seven were for possession and one for distribution, after deputies used warrants to enter the house where Phelps allegedly was photographed.

Phelps may be next.

In an earlier column, I gave Lott the benefit of the doubt, suggesting that his hands were tied given the laws of the land and South Carolina's political climate. I retract the benefit.

Sheriffs, though elected and therefore political, have great latitude as to what crimes they pursue. In a state that recently ranked among the most dangerous in the nation, one would think South Carolina's law enforcement officials have better things to do.

Indeed, they do. In our peculiar obsession to track down the Willie Nelsons, the Rush Limbaughs and now the Michael Phelpses of society -- nonviolent, victimless imbibers of drugs -- we've actually made society less safe. That's the conclusion of 10,000 cops, prosecutors, judges and others who make up the membership of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Howard Wooldridge, LEAP's Washington representative, is a former cop and detective who lectures civic clubs and congressional staffers on the futility of drug laws that reduce public safety by wasting time and money. He points to child pornography as just one example.

As of last April, he says, law enforcement had identified 623,000 computers containing child pornography, including downloadable video of child rape. Only a fraction of those have been pursued with search warrants, thanks to limited resources and staff shortages. What's worse, Wooldridge says, is that three times out of five a search warrant also produces a child victim on the premises.

Another example: Last year, Human Rights Watch reported that as many as 400,000 rape kits containing evidence were sitting unopened in criminal labs and storage facilities. Between the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. County sheriff's office, nearly 12,000 kits were unopened, according to an NPR report in December.

Arguments against prohibition should be obvious. When you eliminate the victimless "crime" of drug use, you disempower the criminal element. Neutering drug gangs and cartels, not to mention the Taliban, would be no small byproduct of decriminalization. Not only would state regulation minimize toxic concoctions common on the black market, but also taxation would be a windfall in a hurting economy.

No one's saying that drugs aren't dangerous. Alcohol and tobacco are also dangerous.

And no one thinks children should have access to harmful substances, though they already do. Parents who recoil because their child became an addict should note that prohibition didn't help.

What prohibition did was criminalize what is essentially a health problem -- and overcrowd prisons. In 2007, there were 872,720 marijuana arrests in the United States. Of those, 775,137 were for possession. South Carolina just added eight to this year's roster.

The greatest obstacle to drug law reform is public fear and politics, says Wooldridge, as he set off to give eight presentations on Capitol Hill yesterday. "I've had staffers tell me that to even call a hearing will get you un-elected."

Which, perhaps, explains why Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) -- the only member of Congress to even approach the subject recently -- has tackled the drug problem through the issue of prison overcrowding. Webb has held two hearings before the Joint Economic Committee on U.S. drug policy and incarceration costs. This year, he has promised to push for a blue-ribbon commission to study why the United States has more people in jail than any other country. The answer -- and the solution -- seems clear.

I'm not convinced that all drugs should be legalized, but we should at least put prohibition on the table to take another look. In the meantime, Sheriff Lott has some 'splainin' do to.

 

Testimony for the Joint Economic Committee

June 19, 2008 - Assessing U.S. drug policy and providing a base for future decision

Bath Township, MI Police Detective Howard J. Wooldridge, (retired)

At the hearing of the Joint Economic Committee which Senator Webb chaired on June 19, 2008 two questions asked by the Members were not fully answered. Therefore, I would like the following information be included as part of the record for that hearing.

Regarding Senator Webb’s question on how the expenditure of time to arrest some 845,000 persons per year on marijuana charges impacts other areas of law enforcement: During my fifteen (15) years of police service I learned that my profession often searches and does not find anything illegal. Thus, one can not simply extrapolate the number of arrests times X hours of time per arrest. An average of ten (10) vehicle searches must be conducted in order to find one containing marijuana. Conservatively, 7-8 million hours of patrol time are spent enforcing marijuana prohibition laws. This results in less time for effective DUI, reckless driving and other traffic enforcement priorities.

Regarding Congressman Hinchey’s question of the percentage of prisoners whose crime touches in someway drug prohibition laws: My experience as a detective and in speaking with colleagues show 70-75 % of felony crime touches drug prohibition policy.

Whether crimes committed go up or down, drug prohibition continues to be the engine driving the vast majority of felony crime in America.

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