Buzzby

Ex-Cop: Rein In The War on Drugs
Mike Seate | NORML | 01/18/2005

bHoward Wooldridge rode into town last weekend on his horse, just like a lawman from the Old West.* But the former detective didn't visit Pittsburgh to lock up bad guys.* He was here to lecture on what he feels is the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on the American public.*

"After 15 years in law enforcement, I realized what incredible waste the war on drugs really is.* I was arresting drunk drivers who were a real danger, while my colleagues were going after kids with Baggies full of pot.* It didn't make any sense," Wooldridge said.*

His tour of Pittsburgh involved several guest spots on TV and radio, and a speaking engagement at Monroeville's Bethel AME Church.* That Wooldridge delivers his message from beneath a weathered cowboy hat and crosses the country on horseback helps him gain a foothold with audiences who might not think decriminalizing drugs is the best plan for their communities.*

A conversation with the man reveals an honest, passionate and often funny approach to this sensitive subject.* His freewheeling style has won Wooldridge and his organization LEAP -- Law Enforcement Against Prohibition - -- a growing nationwide following.*

His main problems with the war on drugs are the astronomical costs in lives and money.*

"What grinds me up is the way law enforcement people perpetuate the lie that arresting drug dealers will make a difference in the availability and strength of drugs," he said.* "The smugglers are smart enough to factor in a loss of maybe 20 percent of a shipment.* So even when there's a big bust, they just ship more."

It might seem odd for a former cop to question the sanity of locking up casual drug users, but Wooldridge said the $28,000 it costs to imprison a user for a year could be better spent on rehabilitation programs or tracking down violent criminals.*

It's not a message that has a universal appeal for law enforcement personnel, he acknowledged.*

While serving on the police force in Bath Township, Mich., Wooldridge said, he often kept his opinions on The Drug War to himself.* "It wasn't really something you could talk about in the doughnut shop with my friends," he joked.*

As he began to speak out against the war on drugs and its annual cost of about $19 billion, Wooldridge said he met other cops who felt the same way.* Today, he said, LEAP has about 2,000 members nationwide.*

"Even though I knew this ( anti-drug effort ) was an incredible waste of time, when you're an active duty officer and you come out against ( it ), people think you must want to use drugs or that you can't be counted on to enforce the laws, so it's a lose-lose situation," he said.*

With the constraints of police work behind him, Wooldridge plans to finish his cross-country horseback tour astride his faithful companion Molly.* Then he'll head to Washington, D.C., where he'll put his skills to work as an anti-drug-war lobbyist.*

"People are hungry for some answers to this problem besides just building more prisons," he said.

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