Chuck Conlosh: Former police officer, mayor, and anti-drug activist
Born into a working-class family in Los Angeles County in the late 60s, Chuck Conlosh followed his dream, getting a job working as a deputy sheriff with the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. Eventually, Chuck lateraled down to the Huntington Beach Police Department where he worked for over a decade. During that time, Chuck successfully ran for city council and Mayor of Fountain Valley California. It was during this time that methamphetamine began to take over the streets of California, taking countless lives with it, and destroying thousands of families in the process.
“you could go down in even the nicest areas, and watch people sell and take drugs right out in the open.” "So I started to look for alternative ways to make sure these kids didn’t get illegal drugs."
That's when Chuck began to look at the molecules that methamphetamine was made out of. One particular molecule happened to be a mirror image of ephedrine (one of the active ingredients in over-the-counter cold medicine), therefore, Chuck wrote, proposed, and passed the first law effectively regulating the mass sale of ephedrine products which were then being bought wholesale for the soul purpose of manufacturing meth.
This law quickly spread throughout all of Orange County, and soon enough, the California legislature adopted his law state-wide. Chuck's law was finally passed federally, effectively destroying the methamphetamine market, saving countless lives, and forcing criminals to find alternative ways to produce the addictive substance.
"That was the first time someone took and regulated a molecule to ensure you couldn’t manufacture illegal drugs with it." Says Chuck, who has since moved to pass the law around the world, traveling throughout south America, Europe, and the Middle East, working with world leaders in the war on drugs, coaching law-makers in effectively combatting the illegal drug market.
Chuck now spends his free time as a wildlife photographer and business-man, while continuing his legislative fight against the illegal manufacturing of illicit narcotics.
“People don’t know how to do this stuff, they don’t know how to write it up. So, I help them.”
“You just have to find what it is made out of, identify one of its main ingredients, and regulate that.” “You can’t bake an apple pie without apples, so, essentially, that is what we have done.”
Through the years, Chuck has received a mixed response for his hand in combatting one of the deadliest drug industries in world history. Cartels, gangs, and their networks of influence, both overtly, and subtly, have made their stance on Chuck's legislation clear, while families from across California have sent letters, thanking Chuck for helping put an end to the destruction brought to their communities by the deadly drug.