Pot times
Former Police Officer Urges Drug Legalization
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1096/a02.htmlNewshawk: Beth
Pubdate: Fri, 08 Jul 2005 FORMER POLICE OFFICER URGES DRUG LEGALIZATION
Source: Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Section: Edition F, Pg 3B
Copyright: 2005 Gazette Communications
Contact:
gazedit@fyiowa.com
Website: http://www.gazetteonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/887
Author: Joe Wichtendahl
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
(Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?233
(LEAP)
CEDAR RAPIDS - A former police officer is riding across America on horseback in
an effort to convince people drugs should be legalized.
Howard Wooldridge, a former detective from the Bath Township Police Department
in Bath Township, Mich., is due to arrive in Cedar Rapids on Saturday.
Wooldridge, a founding member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition ( LEAP ),
said the organization's members believe drugs should be a public health matter,
not a law enforcement one, freeing police to pursue crimes like drunk drivers or
sex offenders.
On Thursday, Wooldridge drove ahead to Cedar Rapids to speak to Cedar Rapids
Sunrise Rotary at the Elmcrest Country & Golf Club. He then returned
to his horse to continue his cross-country ride.
"As a taxpayer, I object to ( putting people ) like Rush Limbaugh or Willie
Nelson in prison," Wooldridge said in a telephone interview. "As
a former policeman, I would rather go after a drunk driver and have them put in
jail."
Wooldridge has been speaking across the country for the past eight years on what
he sees as America's failed drug policy.
Legalizing drugs, he said, would control them and put the drug dealer and his
black market -- "the single biggest evil in America, which is responsible
for so much death and crime" -- out of business.
"Up until three years ago, the message was falling on deaf ears.
People would say, 'You're crazy. Drugs will destroy America.' But people
are figuring out that politicians aren't always telling the truth, and they are
beginning to understand that building new prisons is pretty much
worthless."
He allows not all the feedback is positive.
"I had one person tell me that I should be put in Guantanamo Bay for life
without trial," he said.
While the cross-country trip by horseback is long and exhausting, it is not
without its humorous moments.
When he and one of his horses stopped to rest outside a Wal-Mart, as many as
four people called 911 to report him.
"When a horse falls asleep, it's tough for even an experienced horseman to
tell whether or not the horse is sleeping or dead, and since I was sleeping with
my 9mm ( handgun ), people thought I had shot the horse," he said.
Wooldridge will be riding "Sam" through Cedar Rapids on Saturday along
Highway 151 on his way to Dubuque. He hopes to reach New York City by Nov
1.
