COP on the Hill: Stories from the week January 11, 2013

COP on the Hill

Stories from the week January 11, 2013

The Perfect Speed?  –Being There—:  On Tuesday morning I attended a panel discussion held at the Brookings Institute.  The topic was who would/should control marijuana policy; the federal government or the States?  I was able to have a small chat with the ambassador from Holland and a longer chat with a board member (Francisco Thoumi) of the International Narcotics Control Board based in Vienna, Austria.

That afternoon I met with the aide to Congressman Polis (D-CO) who will be the prime sponsor of this session’s bill to repeal federal prohibition of marijuana.

Spending all day Friday on the Hill, I ended up with 12 presentations this week.

It IS who you know:  later in the week I received this from Mr. Thoumi (in response to my standard meet & greet letter)

…..In ten days I will go to Vienna to attend an International Drug Control Board session. That is going to be very interesting because the Board will have to face the recent developments in Colorado, Washington State, Guatemala and Uruguay and the global support to Bolivia’s rejoining the conventions with reserves.

Please keep me abreast of developments in your organization.

Best..

Such letters keep me going.

COP stats since inception: August 2009

• 1013 Presentations to Congressional staffers..12 this week
• 30 Appearances on major TV networks (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision)
• 21 published interviews in major (daily)newspapers
• 43 interviews and reports in minor media = blogs, cable TV, etc
• 69 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $68,000)
• 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning my efforts & in support of COP position
• 22 Radio Interviews
• 34 brief chats with Members of Congress
• 30 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, etc.
• 11 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

• Marijuana Prohibition by the Numbers – January 2013
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• Legalizing Marijuana in Washington and Colorado – A Shot Heard ‘Round the World’
• The United Nations will NOT invade nor attack Colorado & Washington.  This per a 2007 declaration by then United Nations Drug Czar Antonio Costa.
• George Mason University School of Law professor Greve stated that state sales would not put USA in violation of the 1961 Single Convention Treaty which established world-wide prohibition of marijuana.
• Washington: Republican candidate for US Senate Michael Baumgartner of Washington on October 4, 2012 endorsed legalization. He became first Senatorial candidate from a major party in modern times to call for legalization. Legalization polled nearly half million more votes than Romney.
• Colorado: legalization polled 68,000 more than Romney, helped by former Congressman Tom Tancredo who worked the conservative crowd to vote yes on legalization.
• On November 6, Washington & Colorado, via ballot initiative made one ounce legal to possess and use for adults 21 and over.  Both essentially will handle marijuana (including sales) like alcohol, selling it from single product stores (like an ABC store) regulated by the state.  Colorado allows adults to possess 6 plants for grow your own, while WA does not allow personal grows.  WA implemented a DUIM law with a blood level maximum of five (5) nanograms.   Colorado continues to rely on officer’s professional judgment on impaired driving + subsequent blood test to show presence of marijuana. WA passed by 56% v 44% and CO passed by 55% v 45%
• Revenue Projections:
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  • Colorado:  State sales tax on med pot was 5 million in 2011.  Projection for general use is $42M in taxes + a savings of 12 million in law enforcement costs.
  • Washington: Bureaucrats in Olympia estimate taxes on sales will amount to about 500 million per year. This author’s opinion is less than half that.
  • 20 states have decriminalized MJ in some form; WSJ oped 1-5-13 (decrim = no possible jail time)
  • 18 states have legal, medicinal use = one American in three has state-level, legal access to God’s medicine.  In November, Massachusetts voted for medical use by 63 v 37.
  • White House Reaction:  has been a ‘thundering silence’ to date.
  • Reaction S/O the Border:
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  • Mexico – new President Peña Nieto has called for review of entire drug policy because of WA, CO legalization.  Questions why MX should continue arresting its citizens for growing for export.
  • Guatemala – new President Perez Molina has called for legalization of all drugs to stop violence there.
  • Colombia – new President Santos has publically questioned why marijuana should be illegal there.
  • The vote this fall has been heard “around the world.”  The voters of Colorado and Washington cracked a big hole in the world-wide ‘Berlin Wall’ of marijuana prohibition.  Even Holland, with their system of coffeehouses, does not measure up to full legalization in these two states.
  • And there is no going back.  Even if federal agents crack down hard in CO & WA, try finding a jury to convict..of anything.  While in Colorado I had a meeting with Boulder County district attorney Stan Garnett.  He reiterated what he said on ’60 Minutes, ’that seating a jury of 12 on a marijuana case would be impossible.   Jury nullification will be a fact in these two states.
  •  Michigan also had five city-wide important votes that demonstrate the will of the voters.  The City of Detroit voted 3 to 1 to legalize marijuana. Even extremely conservative Grand Rapids (more churches per square mile than any city in the USA) made simple possession a civil infraction, like a parking ticket.  All five votes ended in victory for the anti-prohibition side.   Politicians have been put on notice of the will of the people.  They ignore these votes at their peril.
  • LOSERS:
  • Oregon’s initiative to legalize for personal use was defeated 48 v 52 (over reach by OR activists)
  • Arkansas medical marijuana initiative was defeated 47 v 53 (first try in southern state)