On Wednesday I attended a breakfast at the Leadership Institute in order
to hear a presentation by the most widely known Drug Warrior in
Congress, Congressman Mark Souder (R-IN). He is infamous for authoring
the law that denies any college student monetary aid, if they are
convicted of any drug offense…and much, much more. During his speech he
talked about the many failures and disappointments of the War on Drugs.
He took questions and I was able to ask mine.
"Congressman, I am a retired police officer. In the past three and a half decades my
profession has spent a trillion tax dollars and arrested some 38 million
Americans for drug offenses. Despite that, drugs are cheaper, stronger
and much easier for our teens to find and buy. Do you ever doubt the
wisdom of the policy of drug prohibition and its strategy of war on
drugs?"
His answer was, "Taking drugs is immoral. I will never change my point
of view."
After the speech, I was able to engage him for about 4 minutes, one on
one. I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice to say that he claimed
that the US has spent 2 trillion on treatment and other non-truths. I
told him about LEAP and that we are now part of the loyal opposition on
Capitol Hill opposing prohibition. I asked him about the morality of
the policy creating a job option for teens to become drug dealers at 15,
and that over 900,000 are now so employed. He did not respond to the
question. I finished by asking him to do all he could that would allow
my profession to focus on drunk drivers and child predators, not Willie
Nelson and not Rush Limbaugh. He did not respond to my request. We
shook hands and I went on to chat with other conservatives who expressed
an interest in why there are police officers who oppose the WOD.
For a $15 breakfast I was able to have 4 minutes with a leader
like Souder. I will be searching out other venues where I can maximize
the bang for little bucks. NOTE: you probably know that normally the
lobbyists in this town are charged several thousand dollars to have
breakfast with a Congressman or Senator.
BTW: I did spend time on the Hill this week, visiting 10 offices but
this week will be remembered meeting the evil, the enemy, the blind
stupidity, the craziness of Congressman Souder.
Postscript: I have contacted the office of the Interfaith Drug Policy
Initiative. I am hoping they can make contact with Souder’s minister
back in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Perhaps that minister might be able to
help Souder understand WWJD. *
* What Would Jesus Do
