Good Karma: During my presentations to Congressional staffers – I was able to engage 6 Congressmen in conversation…
Grover Norquist meeting…no rebuttal from Heritage: I am happy to report that, unlike in years past, the Heritage Foundation has not presented rebuttal presentation to the Grover 150 meeting. This is a first for them. The overwhelming ‘cheerful’ news from Colorado has put a muzzle on them.
Podcast w/ documentarian: I gave a long interview with a documentarian… they condensed it down to one hour…if you click iTunes. It will lead you to it.
Very Ape Podcasts: Sean Dunne….nothing really new but he did draw me out why I am committed to the repeal of prohibition and what are obstacles in the way (besides police unions, big Farma, etc)
This week’s stats:
2168 Presentations to Congressional staffers.. 06 this week
130 personal chats with a Member of Congress.. 06 this week
200 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. 02 this week
4 meetings
COP stats since inception: August 2009
42 published interviews/foto in major (daily) newspapers or magazine… 0 this week
62 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media..This week (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR)…02 this week (NBC twice)
24 major conferences attended – (United Nations drug conf, CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, etc) 0this week
130 interviews and reports in minor media = 0 this week.
66 Radio Interviews.. 0 this week
83 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $83,000).. 0 this week
* 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
Weekly attendance at 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. 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
BTW: Sometimes we do things so often, we forget how important they are..just know that every week at the Norquist brunch, I meet with citizens running for Congress. I always manage a 2 minute chat & ask for their commitment to the 10th amendment. A solid majority of the time they are on board with the 10th.
Road Trip: Jim Rubens of New Hampshire is running for the US Senate. He flew me up to Manchester for a press conference, where he announced his position on drug policy. It was nice to be asked. Rick van Wickler, LEAP’s Board President also spoke…both of us as private citizens. I flew up and back in one day.
4/20: I presented to about 40 DC-based, marijuana activists, saying give yourselves a hand for achieving 90% of your goals (they still don’t have MJ stores, due to Congressional opposition. I urged them to put on their Sunday best from now on to achieve the final goals. I asked and about 75% thought all drugs should be legalized.
This week’s stats:
2162 Presentations to Congressional staffers.. 09 this week
124 personal chats with a Member of Congress.. 02 this week Congressmen Guinta & Poliquin
198 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. 07 this week
5 meetings
66 Radio Interviews.. 01 this week
COP stats since inception: August 2009
42 published interviews/foto in major (daily) newspapers or magazine… 0 this week
62 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media..This week (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR)…00 this week
24 major conferences attended – (United Nations drug conf, CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, etc) 0this week
130 interviews and reports in minor media = 0 this week.
83 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $83,000).. 0 this week
* 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
Weekly attendance at 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. 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
“I’d say they still don’t quite know what to do,” one lobbyist says.
Eric Holder was vague in saying a decision on state pot laws would come “relatively soon.”
Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that the Obama administration still didn’t have an answer on how it would handle laws passed to legalize marijuana in Colorado and Washington state, but that it would come “relatively soon.”
Many watchers of the issue, however, tell Whispers they believe the administration is stalling.
Howard Wooldridge, a lobbyist for the pro-marijuana legalization group Citizens Opposing Prohibition, says Holder’s remarks show the White House may not have yet made up its mind.
“How this administration is going to react to Colorado and Washington… is an enigma wrapped in a nutshell surrounded by a box in a dark room at midnight,” he says. “But if I had to guess, I’d say they still don’t quite know what to do.”
The reason for the delay may also be that the administration is in a no-win position, according to Jeffrey Miron, a senior lecturer of economics at Harvard University who has done a number of studies on the legalization of marijuana and other drugs.
“They are in an awkward position. Any decision that challenges the new laws in Colorado and Washington will anger their base; any policy that allows those laws to stand will energize the Republicans,” say Miron, who previously warned that legalization of marijuana in those two states could turn into a Supreme Court battle with the federal government. Possession or use of marijuana remains a federal crime despite the new state laws.
Adding a wrinkle to all of this is that a United Nations agency this week put pressure on the administration. In an annual report released Tuesday, the International Narcotics Drug Board said the laws in Washington and Colorado go against international drug control treaties.
A group of former U.S. drug chiefs, who similarly oppose the new laws, are also upset with the delay.
“If they don’t act now, these laws will be fully implemented in a matter of months,” former DEA administrator Peter Bensinger told the Associated Press, saying the delay could cause “a domino effect” for other states to legalize marijuana.
When probed by Whispers about the reason for the delay, a DOJ spokeswoman only said the agency was “in the process” of reviewing the laws. The White House did not respond to request for comment, while the Office of National Drug Control Policy declined to comment because the issue is before the Justice Department.
The title of the Brookings seminar was “post UNGASS 2016 – what to expect.” Normally the Brookings does not disappoint..this was the exception…close to zero new info and lots of non-sequitor questions from the audience of 100… Oh well.
JV Team:? The Brookings held another seminar entitled, “Should marijuana be rescheduled?” To a full room about 150, there was a spirited presentation by both sides. Having attended dozens of such events, I was struck (confirmed by a NORML leader) how poor the anti-change arguments were. I can surmise that the pro-prohibition side finds it harder to find capable speakers who promote prohibition vs. legalize/regulate.
Cheerful News: The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bipartisan amendment this week, 20 to 10, allowing Veterans Administration (VA) doctors to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states where medical marijuana is legal. The vote is the second time the U.S. Senate has advanced this issue.
Six R Senators voted our way: Thanks to my GOP Senators: Daines, Murkowski, Cassidy, Alexander, Graham and Blunt. I point this out to show how folks who voted against for decades are now coming our way….BTW, Don Murphy of MPP is largely responsible for these Rs voting our way. His energy and instincts are truly awesome.
This week’s stats:
2153 Presentations to Congressional staffers.. 04 this week
122 personal chats with a Member of Congress.. 02 this week (Senator Collins, R-ME & Cman Loudermilk, R-GA)
192 chats with other elected officials, state reps, senators, VIPs, etc. 1
Senate Hearing + 2 Brookings Institute seminar + 3 meetings
65 Radio Interviews.. 01 this week
COP stats since inception: August 2009
42 published interviews/foto in major (daily) newspapers or magazine… 0 this week
62 Appearances/Interviews on major TV/Radio/Print media..This week (Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, BBC, CNN, NPR)…02 this week (NBC twice)
24 major conferences attended – (United Nations drug conf, CPAC, LULAC, NRA, CBC, ASA, DPA, Dem & Repub. Presidential conventions., National Review, etc) 0this week
130 interviews and reports in minor media = 0 this week.
83 published letters to the editor (value per MAPINC in free publicity: $83,000).. 0 this week
* 2 editorials in daily papers mentioning Howard’s efforts & in support of COP position
Weekly attendance at 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. 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
Envision an America where there are no drug dealers on sidewalks selling drugs, shooting each other and destroying neighborhoods. Imagine a world where all drugs are sold in a state-regulated store by a clerk making 12 dollars an hour. Picture a world where al-Qaeda and other terrorists do not make billions guarding the drug trade and selling drugs. Think of an America where felony crime is reduced by half which allows the police to focus on the deadly DUI, the child predator and other public safety threats. Consider the prospect of redirecting the 72 billion tax dollars currently spent chasing non-violent drug users & their suppliers. See a world where, if one day you or a loved one has a drug problem, you see a doctor not a judge.
This world is possible when we find the courage to end Modern Prohibition.
