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Author
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Topic: "Operation Druglord"
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted October 22, 2019 05:10 PM
Anyone remember a while back when I told you of a drug proposal I was working on to try and change the way Kansas deals with meth addiction? Several of you echoed the same remarks I was getting locally, warning me not to get my hopes up if I was relying on politicians to carry my water.
Yeah, you were right.
That said, I made the command decision to heed the advice of Winny Churchill when he said, "Never, never, never give up!"
My first version, 1.0, was about 6 pages long. Damned good idea according to a local judge who read it. My Rep blew smoke up my dungarees, made it sound like we were gonna be a big deal and promptly stood down.
Fast forward to May of this year. Hurt my knee (again) and had a LOT of free time so I took advantage of the opportunity and set myself to some intense research. A LOT of research.
During the process, a link to a TedTalk video appeared in my FB feed entitled, "Everything you know about addiction is wrong". A lot of what that guy was saying was consistent with the research and data I had in stacks on my desk. Over 400 index cards, 16 ink pens, 3+ reams of copy paper and 5 printer cartridges later, I had a stack of finished copies on my desk. 32 pages each. That's when I found a link on FB to an Op-Ed column by the Kansas Attorney General detailing what he felt was the key to reducing the problem of meth in Kansas. His entire piece echoed my proposal. Eery weird, folks.
Copies went to several friends of the academic variety, mostly college profs and doctors. Edits were made and the final draft was ready to start being shared, to anyone I felt would be a power player in building support for my push for reform.
Four of my targets were television news stations, including two CBS affiliates, an NBC and an ABC. My hope was that they would reach out and pressure my local Rep as their contact. Gave them all of his contact info.
Except, they've called me instead. Last Tuesday, I spent an hour and 45 minutes on camera with the state's largest ABC affiliate in Wichita being interviewed for what the crew called a "major story". Due for broadcast within the next 7-10 days. They wanted to interview the Attorney General, our local District Court Judge, and our County Attorney, the latter two of which fully support my ideas before finalizing the story for broadcast.
Earlier today, I received a request from the NBC affiliate out of Topeka requesting an interview - the NBC affiliate for NE Kansas which means I'll get exposure all across the state.
While all this has been going on, I've been reading a great book that outlined Ike's management strategy in Operation Overlord, D-Day, and am using some of the lessons I learned there to help me along.
I fully expect this idea to bloom and expand considerably once the news segments are broadcast so I've called in trusted and competent friends to help me cover both functional and geographic operations as we work to build a foundation of support across the state between now and when the state legislature convenes on January 13. Span of control management.
I have the support of the local County Attorney and Sheriff, both of whom I hope will help me distribute a 10-minute video outlining the proposal's objectives, including segments from the news reports, to every Sheriff and CA in the state - 105 of each. And, I'm using connections statewide to establish a network of individuals across the state in each community of any size where I will provide them with the video, which includes a link to the digital version of the proposal with hopes that they will, in turn, share them forward.
Thus, if my Rep wants to try and ignore me (again), he will have to answer to at least a couple hundred other supporters as well. I can play the game, too.
Never imagined I'd have this kind of momentum at this point, and it can all fall apart in a matter of seconds. You never know. The big thing right now is the overwhelming support I'm getting from critical people that I really need to be with me on this. The hardest part is resisting the urge to exploit the momentum and run with it. Consulting with a career media guy and he's warned me not to lean out past the tips of my skis and to let this specific opportunity play itself out a bit before trying to force its course.
I'm prouder of this paper than of anything I've ever written in my life. In many ways, all my articles up to now were to get me ready for this project. Earlier today, I was listening to Charles Krauthammer's son being interviewed on the radio and he quoted his dad with something that rang true with me. Krauthammer was trying to explain the value of his writing to himself when he said,
"Every once in a while, you get the words in the right order, and you give the world a nudge."
Just sharing what's got me amped up big time tonight. Bursting at the seams. Personally, since my son has really started working to stay clean and has followed my steps, he's gone from 112 to 171 pounds, taking his meds as prescribed, doing what I and his doctors say, and is off probation and working for the first time in 5 years. Best place we've been in nearly ten years.
They can change, if they want to. Takes about a year (at least) of hard work, pain and commitment, but it can be done.
[ October 22, 2019, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: Cdog911 ]
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Semp
GOLD STAR MEMBER
Member # 3074
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posted October 22, 2019 05:52 PM
Congratulations on your success and especially on your son's recovery journey. I pray it continues.
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Always remember: That court appointed psychiatrist is not your friend.
Posts: 406 | From: Kentucky | Registered: Aug 2008
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Kokopelli
SENIOR DISCOUNT & Dispenser of Sage Advice
Member # 633
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posted October 22, 2019 07:13 PM
Good deal and I hope good comes of it.
However;
Never forget that when a politician shakes your hand and says "I want to help" what they really mean is 'I want to help myself'.
Hold their feet to the fire !!!!
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And lo, the Light of the Trump shown upon the Darkness and the Darkness could not comprehend it.
Posts: 7584 | From: Under a wandering star | Registered: Apr 2005
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Paul Melching
Radical Operator Forum "You won't get past the front gate"
Member # 885
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posted October 23, 2019 03:50 AM
YES!
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Those who value security over liberty soon will have neither !
Posts: 4188 | From: The forest ! north of the dez. | Registered: Jul 2006
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NVWalt
Does not claim to be overly bright!
Member # 375
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posted October 23, 2019 04:31 AM
Very good news indeed. I really do applaud you. Remember to never let the bastards get you down.
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Support Communism and help destroy the United States of America ! VOTE DEMOCRAT. "In the end, they aren't coming after me. They are coming after you!" D.Trump
Posts: 640 | From: Tellico Plains, TN | Registered: Aug 2004
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted October 23, 2019 05:59 AM
I'm very impressed, Lance. I don't know, under what circumstances, that I would persevere as you have. I'm not clear as to what exactly is so revolutionary in your plan, but as you mention, sometimes all it takes is putting the words in the right order. So, good luck with that.
Good hunting. El Bee
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31474 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted October 24, 2019 05:00 PM
Nothing revolutionary at all, if you actually take the time to look at the research and data collected over years and years of dealing with addiction. In Kansas, as in many states, the legislature chose to codify a one size fits all approach to addicted offenders based upon the simple and egregiously erroneous assumption that you can simply punish a hard core addict into sobriety and when that doesn't work, it's because they either don't have the will to stop using, or they're simply oppositional to authority. Neither of those assumptions is correct and, as a result, the law, passed in 2003, has done more harm than good, if any good at all.
Throughout this experience, we have isolated ourselves in our mutual misery and, in doing so, came to falsely believe that our situation was worse than anyone else had ever experienced and that no one could possibly comprehend, let alone understand what we had been going through. Turns out, as I read study after study, our son was pretty much the poster child for addiction. Every parent I either read about or spoke with had similar experiences as we had, often in the same sequence and time frame. The only differences were gender, faces, and names. That's when I began to think that with this many parallels and similarities, how come we, as a society, can't see the problem for what it truly is and intervene?
Somehow.
The first rule of dealing with an addict is that they will not change unless and until they personally commit to their recovery. You can arrest them, jail them, imprison them, take all their belongings as fines and court costs, isolate them from everyone and everything they've ever known and none of that will ever succeed until they make the decision to pursue real change in their lives.
Met with our Sheriff last week after he'd read the entire piece and he said that, at first, he went into reading with a healthy dose of skepticism. Has read a lot of other ideas, none of which ever produced any kind of results that were any good. As he read, he said he began to recall his Drug Task Force days and the hundreds of meth addicts he'd arrested and, during the interrogation that followed as they tried to get the addict to give them intel they could use, the overwhelming number who often broke down in tears - men and women both - and spilled their guts about how much they hated themselves, hated their addiction, hated what they'd done to themselves and those they cared about, and how they very much wanted to reset their lives to normal but they just couldn't overcome the addiction and didn't have any assets to cover the cost of treatment. He said that as their faces appeared in his memory, he began to realize that I might just be onto something.
As I've spoken with judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, corrections, ad nauseum, they all said almost the same thing. "What we're doing now is a goddamned mess and it's not working."
When my son was in prison for 60 days, he was in one of three large brick "dorms" with 300 men in each building. Four to a room. I asked him how many were there for non-violent drug crimes. He estimated 275 or more in his dorm, but he wasn't really going around talking to guys and trying to make friends. Non-violent drug possession, or crimes committed to support a drug addiction accounts for about 80% of Kansas crime and overcrowding in our jails and prisons because of the continued misbelief that incarceration cures addiction. Kansas just sent the first plane load of what is estimated will be as many as 10,000 prisoners from our state prison systems to other states who have room. The first load went this past week to Arizona. Insane!
Earlier today, I listened to a conversation on the radio where it was suggested that we just not send non-violent drug offenders to prison to relieve overcrowding. Just like what we're doing now, that's a one size fits all oversimplified solution to a hugely complex problem. What do we do with drug offenders then? Cut them loose, expect them to find treatment that they can't pay for and then act shocked when burglaries and thefts continue to blast through the stratosphere because these people continue to commit property crimes to support their out of control, untreated addictions?
Complex problem require complex solutions, and it really, really pisses me off that the state refuses to admit that they were short-sighted with previous programs and policies from which thousands of addicts have been recruited into the culture simply because properly addressing the problem was more difficult than anyone in power wanted to tackle.
My proposal takes all the different areas of research, all the different methods that have demonstrated positive results, and puts them in a common sense order. I've had it reviewed by some of the most recognized experts in the fields of corrections medicine and they support it.
Why do I persevere? Because every instinct in me, and every sign I've had placed in my path the last two years has told me that I'm doing the right thing. And, for my son, other sons, daughters, their parents and every person whose life has been touched by the scourge of addiction.
Not news that I am basically an atheist. That said, there have been experiences while doing this project that have left me questioning my lack of faith. Let me explain and you decide.
At the very start, I was so frustrated with the way my boy's case was being handled by the courts. I would like to say that I developed this proposal - this idea - over a period of time during which I slogged through the data, wrote tons of notes, moved things around, moved them back, ended up with what I've now sent forward.
In reality, at a point in time when I was at my lowest and the most frustrated, the entirety of this idea - from start to end - just appeared and flowed into my mind in a stream of consciousness. I literally sat down and began writing - from start to end. The final draft is essentially unchanged from that first iteration.
When I had that done, I sent it to a PhD/MD in Washington state who specializes in corrections medicine and he replied with no real criticism except that it was too long. (6 pages). Three weeks later, late on a Saturday afternoon in May, my phone pinged and I had an email from him with a link. I didn't get a chance to look at it for four days, but when I did, it was a report from Trump's Council of Economic Advisors outlining their statistical analysis of programs used in prisons and jails across the country going back ten years. Their conclusions were that states - in order to be eligible for federal tax dollars to fight the opiate crisis - would be required to follow eight very specific features of historically successful programs. As I read those eight mandates, I realized that my proposal met every single one of them. I went back and looked at the email I'd gotten and this expert had stated beneath the link that if he hadn't known for a fact that my proposal had been written and sent out to him four months before this report was issued, he'd have sworn I had that report on my desk and used it to build my ideas around. To say that I had a chill run down my spine would be an understatement.
Fast forward to the day I went to the local printers and had them make fourteen copies for me to send out to the people I wanted to win over. I had those copies on my desk right next to the laptop I'm using this very second when I took a break to check Facebook. One of the first stories to appear in my feed was on an article our state's Attorney General wrote as an op-ed piece about the comorbid relationship between mental illness and addiction - a major section in my paper.
As recently as yesterday...
Because I expect this project to expand quickly when these two news reports air, I've already moved to enlist the support of people I've worked with in the past in law enforcement and emergency medicine to join me so I can delegate specific responsibilities and tasks based upon function and geography across the state. In Incident Management, we call that managing span of control.
As I'm delivering the last few blocks of my route, I was thinking about who the next person should be for me to contact. One name came to mind - my first partner in EMS and the current Deputy Director of EMS for our county. Literally, less than thirty seconds later, in a residential neighborhood he had no real reason to be in, he came driving down the street in his response unit and waved at me. I waved him over and took advantage of the opportunity presented by fate, divine intervention, whatever, and asked him to join me.
He said yes.
At every turn and every intersection in this process, whatever I have needed (and a few things I didn't know I needed at that moment) have simply appeared in front of me.
Like I said, I'm an atheist, but it makes you wonder...
I'm pretty much convinced that I'm doing this in this time and place, and that my background as a writer and persuader, my training and experience as a leader and managerwhile under stress - all this is coming together right now and has happened in order to prepare me for this task. Even now, having read that damned proposal fifty times, I read segments and think to myself how well it is written and can't believe that those are my words.
My first interview happened because their news editor wanted two questions answered - who would go to this much trouble and do this? And, why?
I guess, me, and because I'm supposed to.
I'm as shocked at how this is playing out as anyone at this point.
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted October 24, 2019 08:41 PM
We will pray for you, Lance!
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31474 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Paul Melching
Radical Operator Forum "You won't get past the front gate"
Member # 885
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posted October 25, 2019 08:33 AM
Lance you need not believe in God ,
he believes in you !
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Those who value security over liberty soon will have neither !
Posts: 4188 | From: The forest ! north of the dez. | Registered: Jul 2006
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted October 25, 2019 05:01 PM
Uh oh, Got a crank response for Lance. Want to see it?
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31474 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted November 01, 2019 04:47 PM
Fake news
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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