2006 Rebels with Just Cause Award
Here's a real cowboy hero, riding for freedom to save justice in America. Howard Wooldridge, from Ft. Worth originally, road his horses across the US. It took them three years to cross the county as a promotional event for LEAP. He has received an award from the Long Rider's Assoc. for his effort. He shares McCool's Rebel with Just Cause Award for 2006 with Cindy Sheehan. This award honors true patriots, those who stood for freedom and those still standing.
Back
in Saddle, Preaching Drug Legalization
By COREY KILGANNON
Published: October 5, 2005 NYTimes
The retired police officer warns, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Drug prohibition causes more pain, suffering and death than the drugs themselves." Seeing the need to restore Justice, COP was founded to provide YOUR VOICE working daily in Washington, DC to repeal all drug prohibitions.
Your Voice in the United States Congress
COP's Stories from the weeks of November18- December16, 2011
As seen on 60 Minutes: Two months ago CBS reporter Steve Kroft came to the Grover Norquist by-invitation-only brunch I attend every Wednesday morning. It was cool to have a five minute chat with Steve before he and the cameraman began taping.
On November 20th the piece aired and the hat and I made it into a few seconds of air time = always a hoot to be on TV. Importantly, as was said, the Grover brunch “is the Grand Central Station of the conservative movement.” Having a seat at this gathering is in some ways as important as all the rest of my work combined. In the past 2 ½ years I have had chats with nearly all the regulars (100 of the 150 each week). The vast majority of them have whispered their support for the COP position. I work hard to encourage them to raise their voice above that whisper.
Why good legislation fails: A trusted Congressional staffer shared this with me, regarding his boss’ NO vote on
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
Repeat Repeal ---------------by Howard "Cowboy"Wooldridge
Howard is Your Voice in the United States Congress educating; stamping out ignorance about this nightmare policy. He speaks all over the country with a program to end prohibition and the “War on Drugs.” Many other former law enforcement speakers against the war are available at LEAP. If you have a drug horror story or situation in your community, please email Howard or McCool so we may bring your story to the nation.
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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)
by those who serve in the War on Drugs
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(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
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.
AMAZING VIDEO EVERY PARENT SHOULD WATCH:
The ADHD Fraud: How Psychiatry Makes "Patients" of Normal Children Beware, psychiatrists earn more money from drug makers than doctors in any other specialty and there is a link between psychotropic drugs and violence including school violence!
COP ON THE HILL (continues)
legislation. “What makes it a win for me?” ‘It’ being the bill and ‘me’ equals him personally, not his state, not our country but him personally (as the staffer elaborated on the statement).
In the same conversation another staffer said, “I don’t like hearing these outrageous lies.” This after a Member from his own party spoke on the floor attacking a good bill, by lying about what was in the bill. That, boys and girls, is why Congress is so dysfunctional and its approval rating hovers at 10%.
CATO event: About 200 attended an all-day conference on ‘The Global Failure of the War on Drugs.’ I made some new contacts and learned how rapidly and wide-spread the anti-prohibition forces are becoming in South and Central America. I am still puzzled why CATO and others continue framing the issue as ending the Drug War, as if that is the solution to the problem, i.e. The Europeans have no drug war but they sure have drug prohibition.
Ethel Rowland, a fierce anti-prohibition Floridian, attended the meeting with me. She was a guest at our house and we rode the train together to downtown DC. She wore a cape which she made from two LEAP shirts, so the COPS SAY LEGALIZE DRUGS – ASK ME WHY was seen in the front and back. We had a half-dozen or so people ask us why en route to the CATO event. = Fun. (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!
As seen on 60 Minutes: The URL to view the 16 minute segment: Click on ‘Watch the Segment’
Don’t talk to strangers: Visiting the Newseum on Sunday, the place had lots of young people, including those from a private high school. In groups of 3 & 4 about 25 asked me why cops say legalize pot. With teens I always include the proviso that pot, like all drugs, can be dangerous, it has ruined lives by addiction and that is why it should be given the same respect and laws as beer.
As I was chatting with a group of four students, one of the chaperones came up and scolded me for talking to the 16 year olds without a teacher being present. It went downhill from there, as she had the teens move away from me. She admonished the teens for talking to me and finished by saying, “You shouldn’t be talking to strangers!”
In a 6 story shrine to the first amendment and free speech teens who wanted to learn something were being told not to. Oh well. I figured by Monday morning the whole school will have known about the confrontation and COP, as I had already passed out 7-8 business cards.
Personal: Karen and I hope you have many blessings to celebrate this Thanksgiving. We do.
What makes the difference?: During my chat with Molly she said her boss is on our side and might even co-sponsor the repeal of marijuana bill. However, she informed me that no one in her district had sent a letter/email this year in regards to marijuana prohibition. The boss would not stick his neck out, if his constituents did not care enough to write.
Shake them up or alienate them?: The last photo above is one I am contemplating using for my follow-up thank you note with staffers I meet. The past 6 years I have used a foto of Misty and me en route from LA to NYC = warm and fuzzy. Asking 5 aides on Friday, the vote was 3 to 2 in favor of using the fotos. WARNING: the other foto shows the very real gore triggered by our demented policy. It is 4 heads placed on the rear window sill of a car. I value your opinion. Please share.
Personal Note: I took some time out on Black Friday to protest the war in Afghanistan (not wearing my COP t-shirt). The local, daily paper was kind enough to put a large foto of us on the front page… along with a nice article which mentioned my work in DC.
First for everything: In the past six years I was never too sick to work…until this week. I ‘called-in-sick’ the first four days. By Friday I was feeling okay enough to have 7 meetings with staffers. All better now.
Small Steps: I attended the monthly breakfast of the Leadership Institute (trains young Republicans) (www.leadershipinstitute.org) on Wednesday. In the elevator as I was leaving a woman my age said, “I like your jacket.” I thanked her. She went, “No, really I love your jacket. Tell me who you are.” We had an excellent 5 minute chat. She is a declared candidate for the Republican Party for a Congressional district in northern Virginia.
I want to convince my boss: Today I had a 50 minute meeting with the legislative director of a Democratic House member. The LD is completely on board with the COP point of view. He wanted talking points to convince the Congressman to sign onto HR 2306, the repeal of Marijuana prohibition bill. Small steps & I will let you know either way.
Horrific fotos: I will NOT use the 4 head shot in any correspondence. I received excellent feedback from several of you and staffers. I AM going to use the first foto to demonstrate the silliness of grown men chasing a green plant.
3 one hour radio shows chewed up a bunch of my time this week. All good.
Shake hands with four Members, chat with one: Congressman Session (R-TX) asked about the LONG RIDER belt buckle. With two other Members I shook hands & kept going and with one from Georgia we had a 90 second chat on the issue, as I walked him to the elevator. Another day at the salt mines, it was.
Meanwhile I made 14 presentations this week. Especially important was with a legislative director who blocked out 45 minutes for our conversation. He wanted and received chapter and verse on how to sell HR 2306 (Repeal MJ prohibition) to his boss and voters. Another LD that I met again (three times over four years) likes 2306 and will go to bat for it as soon as the budget crisis has a lull. Small steps.
I was struck this week by how many aides had never heard of the Frank/Paul to repeal. And that reinforces how important it is to meet with all 535 offices, not just our friends. BTW, we are up to 20 co-sponsors. My goal is 40 by this time next year.
Snooze – you lose: I called the NRA this week (National Rifle Association) to reserve a booth for their April national conference in St. Louis. Oops. They rented that last 10 feet two weeks after their show in Pittsburg closed this past May. Damn! I will put COP money down for 2013, as soon as I arrive in St. Louis on April 12.
Stats for COP's third year, started on August 1, 2011:
229 presentations to Congressional staffers: 14 this week
5 Letter to the Editor: this week
2 Television appearances (Univision): this week
5 Other media (blogs, cable TV, etc): this week
7 radio shows: this week
10 (Member of Congress) contacts: 1 this week
Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 140 conservative VIPs.
2 Major conferences attended: Drug Policy Alliance International & the Congressional Black Caucus
POB 2902
Washington, DC 20013
If you have questions or comments, please send an email to: howard@citizensopposingprohibition.org
COP total stats in first two years: August 1, 2009 thru July 31, 2011)
649 Presentations to Congressional staffers
22 Appearances on major TV networks
10 published interviews in newspapers
12 interviews and reports in minor media = blogs, cable TV, etc
57 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $56,000)
19 brief chats with Members of Congress
13 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, etc.
6 major conferences attended (CPAC, LULAC, NRA, etc)
Permanent invitation to Grover Norquist’s Wednesday brunch attended by 140 conservative VIPs.
Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. Add your voice to those who 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 check.
Teddy Roosevelt’s words: "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." - "Citizenship in a Republic," Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
NOTE: In this era of Facebook and email I should include that an average of 60 people take our foto every work day. No doubt many/most will send it to their family and friends & post it to their Facebook page. Given the probablity of others re-sending it to their contacts, this medium has probably produced a solid 100,000 to see the horse & the Prop 19 signs. About a dozen told me they would post the foto on the blog, etc. Whatever the number, it is significant and free.
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. Our first year stats are below for your review. I hope and trust you will continue to support these efforts.
BEST REASONS TO EXAMINE MARIJUANA PROHIBITION
#1A. Public safety suffers as a result of MJ Prohibition, as officers are diverted from more important cases. The detectives flying around in helicopters looking for marijuana in your backyard are not catching the pedophiles in the internet chatrooms playground nor the rapists near the jogging paths. Road officers spend as much time looking for marijuana under someone’s front seat as they do drunk drivers. And what kills12,000 Americans every year?
#1B. Personal Safety. Marijuana is safer than alcohol for the user, their family and their community. Anyone of any age who uses marijuana in place of alcohol improves the outcome of drug use i.e. no overdose deaths by drinking, far fewer homicides, suicides, rapes, assault, child/spouse abuse, car crashes, and other problems caused by drinking & not by marijuana. How many teetotalers/non-drinkers would start using MJ, when it became legal? Not many.
#2.. Improve health care and lower costs. Marijuana is the best medicine in some cases and certainly it is the least expensive. Unrestricted use by adults would improve their health, as it has few side effects, low addiction qualities and titration (dosing) improves. Since it could be grown privately for nearly free or purchased at a price approaching aspirin per dose, families could save on drug costs. That is THE reason drug companies fear marijuana as a competitive product.
#3. Prohibition causes disrespect for all laws. Everyone sees the hypocrisy of marijuana being illegal, while cigarettes, alcohol, Valium & Prozac are legal. Young adults who have their cars or persons illegally searched by over-zealous police become bitter and don’t respect the law.
#4A. Human costs. Tuition costs at colleges are much higher, as states build more prisons, instead of properly funding higher education. Thus fewer young people can attend or they are burdened with huge debts upon graduation. Prohibition increases the contact that marijuana consumers have with dealers who offer harder drugs for sale.
Prohibition sucks our kids into criminality, when they become sellers of pot. This can end up with them in prison or dead. Pot’s illegality creates glamour and rebellion factors, drawing youth to it like moths to a flame. Per federal studies, marijuana has been easier for young teens to buy than alcohol for 30 years. Per the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) “drugs are readily available to America’s youth.” How could it become worse?
#4B. Financial costs. Enforcement costs are conservatively 11 billion per year. Taxed at a dollar per dose (.8 grams), 5 billion could be added to budgets across the nation. At 30,000 per year per prisoner, those in prison for sale or probation violation chew up billions of tax dollars.
#5. Marijuana use does NOT increase use of harder drugs. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (division of the National Institute of Health) concluded, "There is no evidence that marijuana serves as a stepping stone [to other drugs] on the basis of its particular physiological effect."
The American College of Physicians noted in February 2008, "Marijuana has not been proven to be the cause or even the most serious predictor of serious drug abuse.”
#6. Hemp could be grown without issue. Farmers are ready to plant & harvest it now.
LETTER OF THE WEEK
LOST WAR ON DRUGS AND ITS CASUALTIES
When you lie down with dogs, often you will get up with fleas. Yet another in my profession (Megan Mattingly) has been tainted by the enforcement of drug prohibition. Add her to the many, many thousands who have been corrupted or killed, or who have committed suicide after being corrupted. And for what? We in law enforcement know that every drug dealer arrested is replaced within days. The nine suspects released (or even if they had gone to prison) are meaningless.
A trillion tax dollars spent and 40 years of serious effort have resulted in a Maryland free of drugs? No. Quite the contrary. Drugs are cheaper, stronger and readily available to our teens.
Please tell this reader again why you support this Bridge to Nowhere policy.
Howard Wooldridge
retired detective/officer
Buckeystown
Source: Frederick News Post (MD) Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n000/a017.html
Drug War: A Destructive, Immoral Domestic
Policy
In regard to the Wall Stree Journal 3/17/2010 editorial "Murder in Mexico":
As a police detective who worked the trenches of our failed modern Prohibition-like war on drugs, I experienced firsthand the fact that the strategy has been the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral domestic policy since slavery and Jim Crow. Americans are loathe to admit this policy has been a mistake, even after 40 years of failure and a trillion tax dollars spent. However, Rep. Ron Paul favors repealing drug prohibition and he was a candidate for president (and raised a ton of money). He is now a force in Republican politics.
You state that drug use would rise with a legal, regulated market. Besides a business and finance expert, are you also a doctor, board-certified in addiction psychiatry? I have spoken to eight such doctors and they state that almost no one would start using heroin, crack or methamphetamines just because it became legal. Most Americans are not that stupid.
Howard Wooldridge, Drug Policy Specialist, Citizens Opposing Prohibition, Washington
Your assertion that the cost of drug legalization would be "far higher addiction rates as cocaine and heroin became routinely available and their price fell dramatically" ignores what has occurred since the early 1970s when the drug war began. The percentage of Americans who have used an illegal drug has gone from less than 5% to about 40%. The cost of one dose of street heroin has gone from $6 to 80 cents while purity has gone from about 1.5% to nearly 40%. The only drug that has decreased in use during the drug war is tobacco. (Continue)
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.
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
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.
COP ON THE HILL (continues)
percentage of tobacco users has decreased from about 65% during World War II to about 20% today. Tobacco has never been illegal. Americans quit using it for personal reasons. They decide whether to use other drugs for the same reasons.
The drug war continues unabated for political and economic reasons. It has never reduced drug use or addiction.
Suzanne Wills, Drug Policy Forum of Texas, Dallas
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.
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
Your Voice in the United States Congress
Your Voice in the United States Congress