Letters to our Senators, Representatives and Governors

Recently, while sitting out back on our porch, my son asked me a question. It was apropos, as I was working on a letter to my state senator at the time. His question was:

What can we do when the government has laws that aren’t fair?

My son, TJ – 6 years old

I had to think about it before I answered him. “Well,” I said, slowly. I considered my words carefully; not wanting to mislead him. “In our country, if laws are unjust, we can change them. The founders of our nation gave us ways to do that without breaking the law.”

While the most effective tactic for political change may seem to be rioting, looting, and basically pillaging small businesses that are unfortunate enough to be located in the area, these methods don’t lend themselves to the type of lasting societal change that’s required to permanently resolve truly devastating social issues.  This type of opportunistic violence attracts negative attention, and people may begin to associate the destruction with the cause. This is undoubtedly a step in the wrong direction. Make no mistake: drug prohibition is one of the single most devastating issues of our lifetimes. You can read more about the devastation it’s causing here, but drugs, drug users, and addicts don’t need any more negative publicity.  Think about what comes to mind when you hear the word “Antifa.” Exactly. That’s what we don’t need. 

The kind of change that we want will in all likelihood only be achieved through congressional action. To that end, I have typed a letter to my state senator, my state representatives, and the governor. I have included it for you as a downloadable document. You may edit it, or simply enter your information, print it, and mail it. I don’t know how accurate this is, but I was told by someone more knowledgeable about American government than I am that each mailed letter is worth significantly more than a phone call or email.
Download the letter in whichever of the three formats you prefer (links at the bottom of the page), and print three copies. Address each one to a different person (I chose my senators and the governor). Then, update the CC section at the bottom of each letter to reflect the other people you’re sending it to. Optionally, after you fill it out, print, and mail it to your elected officials, use the hashtag: #itsHighTimeForChange to help us follow your (and our) progress!

Let’s make them listen. Millions of Americans have died as a result of the government’s failure to act responsibly. Millions more will die if we don’t force their hand.

Downloadable Letter

Word File (.docx)	Download
Rich Text Format (.rtf)	Download
Open Document (.odt)	Download

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Copy and Paste Form Letter

If it’s more convenient for you to simply copy and paste the letter, you can do that below. Just as with the downloadable forms, be careful to replace any text surrounded by brackets with your information. Also, please feel free to edit the document to suite you as you see fit. After all, this is a letter from you to your congressional representative, governor, or other elected official.

Beginning of Letter (copy below)

[YOUR NAME]
[Street Address]
[City, State]
]Zip Code]

[Phone Number]

[Date]

[Senator’s Name Here]
Senator of [State here]

393 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

Dear Senator,
I am writing this correspondence as a petition for a redress of grievances, as is my 1st amendment right, and to urge you to rethink our great state’s approach to the prohibition of drugs. Before you continue reading this, I implore you to set aside all preconceived notions you may have about drug users. It is critical to your understanding of the nature of this petition that you acknowledge and set aside such bias. This type of prejudice substantially limits our ability to be honest about the severity of the problem and the sheer number of citizens who currently use prohibited substances. Taxpayer-funded anti-drug propaganda, such as the D.A.R.E. program, “This is your brain; this is your brain on drugs” commercials, and other campaigns, were not only expensive and ineffective, but they were also misleading. Perhaps more troubling, they also promoted self-censorship and shame-based silence. The fear of negative public attention makes drug users, who are far more common than one might believe, loathe to reveal themselves. The President’s son is one such person, although he is not the best example. The majority are productive members of society, nonviolent, well-kept, and organized. In fact, their only crime is that they enjoy the feeling of what are, in most cases, naturally occurring substances. They are our postmen, our school teachers, our police officers, and our politicians. They are our students, our firemen, and our professors. They are our scientists. They are our countrymen, and they are your constituents.

While it is my opinion that drug prohibition has always resulted in human rights violations, I was content to wait for the government and culture to come to their collective senses. Now, powerful synthetic Chinese opioids taint the recreational drug supply. Thanks to prohibition, recreational drugs are only available through the black market. We can no longer afford to pretend that our model of persecuting, imprisoning, rehabilitating, and releasing is working. Our children are dying.

Cartels, whose sole motive is profit, are incentivized to make their products as strong as possible to ensure that one successful shipment makes up for all those that are seized. When we combine the prohibition of narcotics, the ruthlessness of the Chinese Communist Party, Mexican cartels, and the culture of fear associated with being honest about drug use in America, the results speak for themselves: degradation, despair, incarceration, destroyed families, and death. This is a cost too large to bear. 

According to estimates, approximately 75% of currently incarcerated people are serving time for nonviolent, drug-related offenses, or were first introduced to the penal system for such crimes Those who do succeed in making it out of prison are subjected to an unparalleled level of scrutiny – forced to urinate in cups, in full view of another adult, sometimes given only several hours’ notice, and other times given no notice at all, in order to ascertain what they have been doing in their free time. This is an unconscionable violation of privacy. 

It is my contention that God-given plants should not be regulated by the government, and that any attempt to do so is an infringement on our right to the pursuit of happiness. This right is granted to us by our Creator and therefore cannot be taken away by the government. Furthermore, when used responsibly, and ethically sourced by local farmers, most of these substances are nowhere near as dangerous as the synthetic forms that China and Mexico are flooding the streets of America with.

With the recent national attention on cannabis, I feel that the time is right to take a look at our attitude towards all naturally-occurring substances. This brings me to my proposal for you.

I propose that our state be a model for the rest of the nation. To win the “War on Drugs”, we should institute the following policies:

1. We immediately decriminalize possession of personal amounts of any narcotic.
2. We begin a state-sponsored poppy farming program to produce these narcotics locally, and therefore safely.
3. We release anyone currently incarcerated for nonviolent, drug-related offenses.
4. We give these newly free men and women the opportunity to work in the new state sponsored narcotic industry. This industry includes the following:
   1. Poppy farms – to produce the raw opium required.
   2. Narcotic refining plants – to separate the narcotic alkaloids from the poppies, and to process other narcotics that either can’t be grown, or can’t be grown naturally in this region.
   3. Production facilities to finalize, test, and perform quality control on the final products.
   4. Distribution networks and sales locations – similar to state-sponsored liquor stores
5. We tax the products at 25%
6. We use a portion of the tax revenue to fund programs for people who truly want to be sober (similarly to the way that 1-800-GAMBLER is paid for by proceeds from state sponsored gambling) , and fund programs that help rehabilitate people who need help.
7. We use the rest of the money to pad state coffers, and better implement existing state programs (highways, state police, local fire departments, schools, etc)

This would generate billions of dollars per year in tax revenue in the state and save us millions per year in law enforcement costs as we wind down the unsuccessful war on drugs. Furthermore, it would end the current incarcerate, release, fine, and reincarcerate cycle that many of your constituents find themselves in. 

 America was founded by men who felt that personal freedom was paramount. Prohibiting natural substances goes against everything that America stands for. Ben Franklin said “Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.” 

I would like to make one final point, and it is also based on a quote from a famous intellectual; probably the most famous one who ever lived. Regardless of whether or not you agree with this plan, anyone can see that what we’ve been doing isn’t working. According to Einstein, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.” By this standard, we have been anything but sane in our approach to the drug problem. 

Please consider this plan to bring our state, and thereby our country, into a new era of more harmonious prosperity. Save lives, and sign legislation that stops the persecution of American citizens whose only offense is pursuing happiness with God-given substances. Thank you.

Your Loyal Constituent,

__________________________

 ( [Your Name] )
Signed [Today’s Date]

CC

[State Senator #2]
[Governor]

End of Letter (copy everything above)

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