From the aide of a major, Republican candidate still running for President – she wrote these exact words in reply to an email which I send all staffers thanking them for their time:

Staffer of the year 2007: Hypothetically speaking, if drugs were legalized and distributed by clinics, it's likely that health insurers are going to demand notification when their beneficiaries access those drugs. That means those beneficiaries bills will go way up or they'll lose coverage all together. This would likely cause another black market to be established, because folks won't want to lose their health insurance. What do you do about that?

And to be honest, though we didn't get into it, my personal belief is that you should just keep killing every drug dealer arrested. Eventually you're going to run out. I'm not sure we can make a real dent in the problem under our current justice system that allows people to deal drugs with little penalty.

Staffer of the year 2006: A few minutes into a meeting with a staffer, she declared that because drug use would skyrocket with legalization, it was a no-go idea. I pointed out that Holland’s marijuana use had dropped to half of America’s after 30 years of legalization. That’s because they all went on to use hard drugs! she replied, tartly. It took all my 18 years of police-learned discipline not to burst out laughing. Three minutes later she asked, So, you want to sell heroin to 10 year olds!? I replied no, give heroin roughly with the same regulations and controls as whiskey. About 1 staffer in 25 reacts to my visit like this one. These people are very comfortable in their dogma based on ignorance…… BTW, her Republican boss is on the House Judiciary Committee near the top of the seniority. No doubt her boss has the same information/attitude base as the aide. Now you have a better idea why things are so messed up.

Staffer of the year 2005: A Congressional staffer had a new one. His reason for opposing ending prohibition? If we legalize marijuana, eventually the growers will want to receive a subsidy to grow it, the same as farmers receive subsidies to grow tobacco, rice, and sugar etc. It will just mean one more expense for the federal government. Most of you don’t know it but I do have a poker face. I coolly replied, Well, this is the first day of my second rodeo. Call me naive but I have faith that the US Congress will never subsidize cannabis farmers. The staffer remained unconvinced. I went on to another meeting, chuckling all the way down the hall of the Rayburn Building.

Whatever I can do to help: I have been fighting my first cold in years and it has been a doozey. Luckily, I am almost back to normal, just as the politicians return tomorrow. This week I did go and chat with the Number 2 guy (deputy Chief of Staff) of a very senior Dem House member. We had met while I spoke Spanish to the woman shining my boots a few weeks ago in the Cannon Bldg and he was waiting his turn. When I ran into a word I did not know in Spanish, he kindly chipped in the answer. A few minutes later we chatted in Spanish about what I was doing in DC and he agreed with me, introducing himself and telling me who he worked for. This week we spoke for 5 minutes in his office and he directed me to the right people to move LEAP’s ideas forward in 2008. The moral of the story must be that it was great that my Spanish isn’t perfect, otherwise we would have never chatted….and just spending time in the Office Buildings will increase chances to run into people who want to help.

BTW, since my arrival, I have been happily amazed at the vast number of aides who openly agree with or nearly with the LEAP position. Several many have pointed me to VIPs, ideas, strategies, etc to move our country away from prohibition. Also, I ran quickly in 2007 from office to office to make sure that all the offices had been exposed to the LEAP message. Ninety-six percent have now heard the LEAP presentation. Many of the rest refused to give me 15 minutes. In 2008 I will be able to devote more quality time speaking to staffers and attending more hearings. Rumor has it that the Congress will adjourn permanently about 1 August until after the November election.

Can’t take the credit but…. The Congress just before adjourning for the Christmas recess passed and Bush signed a 3,000 page budget compromise for spending in 2008. Tucked away was a 67% reduction in Byrne grants which fund many police drug task forces around the country. My police colleagues are screaming and Congressman Souder has promised to ask for an emergency 360 million so arrests won’t go down. As ya’ll know, one of the first things I have asked 520 times since arriving on the Hill is to stop giving my profession money. There is no return on that investment. My best info is that after the first Bush veto, the House and Senate conferees were told to cut money. And they cut cops getting money to bust drug dealers. There is no way of knowing why they cut police money. Either way, I am happy that there will fewer drug arrests in 2008. Now the trick will be to make the cuts permanent. As the USA borrows a billion dollars a day from the Chinese to stay afloat, who knows? Stay tuned.

I also attended three strategy sessions during the week.

While not able to speak much these past two weeks, I did write this following column which my brother’s influence allowed (along with 5 other ones) to be published in some 40 blogs, some with readership reaching a million. This is the 6th in a series:

Osama 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 and body counts during the Vietnam War .

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.