Drug-War Flashback: When Elvis Met Nixon
By Steve Bloom
Jun 17, 2013
Elvis Presley wrote to Pres. Nixon in 1970: ’I will here for as long as it takes to get the credentials of a Federal Agent.’ It's the anniversary of the War on Drugs, which started with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the same year Pres. Nixon had his famous meeting with Elvis Presley, who'd written Nixon a six-page letter asking that he be made a "Federal Agent at Large… to help the country out.
"I have done an in-depth study of drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques and I am in the middle of the whole thing where I can and will do the most good," he added in the handwritten note, scribbled on American Airlines stationary. "The drug culture, the hippie elements, the SDS, the Black Panthers, etc. do not consider me as their enemy or as they call it the establishment…"
Presley flew to Washington, DC with two associates intent on meeting the president. He wrote the letter on the plane. "I am staying at the Washington Hotel, Room 505 - 506 - 507," the singer explained. "I am registered under the name Jon Burroughs. I will be here for as long as it takes to get the credentials of a Federal Agent."
Presley showed up at the White House unannounced on Dec. 21, 1970. It was quickly arranged for him to meet with Nixon at 12:30 pm and Elvis received a Federal Narcotics Badge. In a memo to the President, he was informed that "Elvis offered to help as much as possible with the growing drug problem."
During the meeting in the Oval Office, Presley gave Nixon a Colt 45 pistol and showed off police badges he had from several states.
In a memo recounting the meeting, presidential aide Bud Krogh wrote that Presley "mentioned that he… was accepted by the hippies. He said he could go right into a group of young people or hippies and be accepted which he felt could be helpful to (Nixon) in his drug drive."
The War on Drugs is still going strong.
source: celebstoner.com
By Steve Bloom
Jun 17, 2013
Elvis Presley wrote to Pres. Nixon in 1970: ’I will here for as long as it takes to get the credentials of a Federal Agent.’ It's the anniversary of the War on Drugs, which started with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the same year Pres. Nixon had his famous meeting with Elvis Presley, who'd written Nixon a six-page letter asking that he be made a "Federal Agent at Large… to help the country out.
"I have done an in-depth study of drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques and I am in the middle of the whole thing where I can and will do the most good," he added in the handwritten note, scribbled on American Airlines stationary. "The drug culture, the hippie elements, the SDS, the Black Panthers, etc. do not consider me as their enemy or as they call it the establishment…"
Presley flew to Washington, DC with two associates intent on meeting the president. He wrote the letter on the plane. "I am staying at the Washington Hotel, Room 505 - 506 - 507," the singer explained. "I am registered under the name Jon Burroughs. I will be here for as long as it takes to get the credentials of a Federal Agent."
Presley showed up at the White House unannounced on Dec. 21, 1970. It was quickly arranged for him to meet with Nixon at 12:30 pm and Elvis received a Federal Narcotics Badge. In a memo to the President, he was informed that "Elvis offered to help as much as possible with the growing drug problem."
During the meeting in the Oval Office, Presley gave Nixon a Colt 45 pistol and showed off police badges he had from several states.
In a memo recounting the meeting, presidential aide Bud Krogh wrote that Presley "mentioned that he… was accepted by the hippies. He said he could go right into a group of young people or hippies and be accepted which he felt could be helpful to (Nixon) in his drug drive."
The War on Drugs is still going strong.
source: celebstoner.com
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