Corrupt Government
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Title: Why Can't You Smoke Pot? Because Lobbyists Are Getting Rich Off of the War on Drugs
Source:
TRUTHOUT
URL Source: http://www.truth-out.org/why-cant-y ... ting-rich-war-drugs/1331480883
Published: Mar 11, 2012
Author: Lee Fang
Post Date: 2012-03-11 18:40:24 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 5011
Comments: 8
John Lovell is a lobbyist who makes a lot of money from making sure you can’t smoke a joint. That’s his job. He’s a lobbyist for the police unions in Sacramento, and he is a driving force behind grabbing Federal dollars to shut down the California marijuana industry. I’ll get to the evidence on this important story in a bit, but first, some context. At some point in the distant past, the war on drugs might have been popular. But not anymore — the polling is clear, but beyond that, the last three Presidents have used illegal drugs. So why do we still put hundreds of thousands of people in steel cages for pot-related offenses? Well, there are many reasons, but one of them is, of course, money in politics. Corruption. Whatever you want to call it, it’s why you can’t smoke a joint without committing a crime, though of course you can ingest any number of pills or drinks completely within the law. Some of the groups who want to keep the drug illegal are police unions that want more members to pay more dues. One of the primary sources for cash for more policing activities are Federal grants for penalizing illegal drug use, which help pay for overtime, additional police officers, and equipment for the force. That’s what Lovell does, he gets those grants. He also fights against democratic mechanisms to legalize drugs. In 2010, California considered Prop 19, a measure to legalize marijuana and tax it as alcohol. The proposition gained more votes than Meg Whitman, the former eBay executive and Republican gubernatorial nominee that year, but failed to pass. Opponents of the initiative ran ads, organized rallies, and spread conspiracy theories about billionaire George Soros to confuse voters. Lovell managed the opposition campaign against Prop 19. He told Time Magazine that he was pushing against the initiative because, “the last thing we need is yet another mind-altering substance to be legalized.” But Republic Report reviewed lobbying contracts during the Prop 19 fight, and found that Lovell’s firm was paid over $386,350 from a wide array of police unions, including the California Police Chiefs Association. While Lovell may contend that he sincerely opposes the idea of marijuana legalization, he has constructed an entire business model predicated on pot prohibition. Shortly after President Obama’s stimulus program passed, Lovell went to work channeling the taxpayer money for California into drug war programs. According to documents Republic Report obtained from the Police Chiefs Association, Lovell helped local departments apply for drug war money from the Federal government. Here’s a copy of one letter sent to a police department in Lassen County, California: There is big money in marijuana prohibition. Lovell represented a police union in a bid to steer some $2.2 million dollars into a “Marijuana Suppression Program.” In 2009 and 2010, California police unions sought a $7,537,389 chunk of Federal money for police to conduct a “Campaign Against Marijuana Planting” program. The anti-marijuana money went directly into the paychecks of many officers. For example, police departments in Shasta, Siskiyou, and Tehama Counties formed a “North California Eradication Team” to receive $550,000 in grants that helped pay for overtime, a new officer, and flight operations: The total amount awarded was $550,000, to be split between Shasta, Siskiyou and Tehama counties, which make up the Northern California Marijuana Eradication Team (NorCal-MET). Broken down in the agenda worksheet, the sheriff’s office is expecting to spend $20,000 on flight operations, $94,895 for the full-time deputy’s salary and benefits, $16,788 for the administration assistant salary and benefits and $29,983 to cover up to 666.29 hours of overtime. The Federal anti-marijuana honeypot might have dried up if Prop 19 had passed. Legalizing marijuana would have generated billions in tax revenue for the state of California, while also reducing victimless crime prosecutions. But for lobbyists like Lovell, legalization was a direct assault on hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential fees for helping to solicit taxpayer money for his clients. Police unions also contributed about $100,500 to a campaign account used to coordinate opposition to Prop 19. Of the $386,350 in fees paid by police unions to Lovell through 2009 and 2010, status update reports reviewed by Republic Report reveal that Lovell worked on a number of issues, from advocacy against Prop 19 to channeling grants and monitoring legislation. Of course, police unions aren’t the only interest group with a stake in maintaining broken drug laws. The beer industry, alcohol corporations, and prison guard unions also contributed money to help Lovell stop Prop 19. Howard Wooldridge, a retired police officer who now helps push for legalization as a citizen advocate, told Republic Report that drug company lobbyists also fight to keep marijuana illegal because they view pot as a low-cost form of competition.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
. LOL! WHO supports POT in ALL states? SOROS. Well hell! as long as a guy who LOVES America and Americans so much is for it, we should be for it also, right? LOL! I have news for ya pot heads, NOBODY but people who smoke it wants it made legal. Of course it's "corrupt", name anything involving alot of money on this Earth that isn't. Making it "legal" will just give the gooberment full control of the MONEY involved. Tell me again how MORE dirty money in gooberment is GOOD for anybody? LOL! "STONED to de BONE" eh gurls? LMAO!
Spoiled, stupid and ignorant, brain dead phuckwads, libTURD fools, tools, and idiots, are the real sickness; the messiah "king" obammy and his regime are only the symptoms.
What a surprise, Mad Dog defending corrupt cops and the war on (some) drugs. If there's anyone who needs to smoke a joint and chill out, it's you sport.
“America is at that awkward stage; it's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.”---Claire Wolfe Laughs....sure thing princess. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Man, you really are a freaking sheep.
“America is at that awkward stage; it's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.”---Claire Wolfe it's a sign of the insanity of our culture that people like Lovell can walk the streets safely
. I defended nothing bung hole. I asked a simple question bung hole. Is MORE corrupt money in the gooberment a GOOD idea bung hole? Because that's the net effect of so called "legalization" bung hole. Oh yeah, I forgot that Soros is your bung hole buddy bung hole.
Spoiled, stupid and ignorant, brain dead phuckwads, libTURD fools, tools, and idiots, are the real sickness; the messiah "king" obammy and his regime are only the symptoms.
. Let me spell it out for ya bung hole, the VAST MAJORITY of LAW enforcement supports keeping pot ILLEGAL. I asked a simple question bung hole. Is MORE corrupt money in the gooberment a GOOD idea bung hole? Because that's the net effect of so called "legalization" bung hole. Oh yeah, I forgot that Soros is your bung hole buddy bung hole.
Spoiled, stupid and ignorant, brain dead phuckwads, libTURD fools, tools, and idiots, are the real sickness; the messiah "king" obammy and his regime are only the symptoms.
Because that's the net effect of so called "legalization" bung hole. All evidence to the contrary. Oh yeah, I forgot that Soros is your bung hole buddy bung hole. Like I said princess, go light up a doob. It's clear to everyone here that you are wound much too tight. Psyhco.
“America is at that awkward stage; it's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.”---Claire Wolfe . LOL! You gibbering simpleton what "EVIDENCE" to the contrary? Are you TRYING to claim that the entire pot industry being changed over to gooberment "control" would not result in corruption? REALLY FOOL? Contrary to your specious claim bung hole, it has been a FACT gooberment gets GREASED with CASH, and CASH "disappears" bung hole. Btw bung hole, make sure you and Soros don't use condoms.
Spoiled, stupid and ignorant, brain dead phuckwads, libTURD fools, tools, and idiots, are the real sickness; the messiah "king" obammy and his regime are only the symptoms.
#2. To: Mad Dog (#1)
(Edited)
#3. To: Mad Dog (#1)
I have news for ya pot heads, NOBODY but people who smoke it wants it made legal.
#4. To: Brian S (#0)
#5. To: Bill D Berger (#2)
#6. To: Bill D Berger (#3)
#7. To: Mad Dog (#5)
Is MORE corrupt money in the gooberment a GOOD idea bung hole?
#8. To: Bill D Berger (#7)
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