Lloyd Casey
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Attn: Philip W. Perry
Rocky Mountain Division Field Headquarters
115 Inverness Drive East
Englewood, CO 80112
Dear Mr. Perry:
On page three of your February 16, 1995 faxed letter at 10:56 am your words are, in part,
"...my 31 years as a federal drug agent...this legislation is no more than a shallow ruse...the people of Colorado deserve to be protected from this sort of subterfuge."
You had been invited in December to participate in an open forum concerning the bill I had agreed to sponsor which would allow a crop of industrial hemp. I had spent five months of investigating the history of hemp as an industrial crop. My expectation was that the D.E.A. would accord me the courtesy of two or three hours to find out if the D.E.A. would or would not accept the honesty of my decision to sponsor the bill.
You chose to cancel the day prior to the scheduled meeting, time and place. You had a draft of the bill. Your words, quoted above, would have been graciously received in January. Your words, arriving by fax just 2 1/2 hours prior to the committee vote, are arrogant and insulting.
You have been on the taxpayer's payroll for so long, you have become like many bureaucrats who have forgotten the basic employer - employee relationship. You are the employee and the taxpayers are the employer.
To paraphrase your arrogance, mine is; I believe my 68 years, which includes WWII service on a destroyer in the South Pacific, a master's degree in Theology, seven children, twelve grandchildren and forty-six years of community service, make me an expert in recognizing a shallow person playing the role of a bureaucratic big shot.
Sincerely,
Lloyd Casey
State Senator