FORMER DETECTIVE: LEGALIZE POT

SUNBURY -- A former police detective who claims drug policies have
failed to curb narcotics use and trafficking will visit Sunbury
tonight to talk about ways he would solve the problem, including
legalizing marijuana.

Howard Wooldridge, of Washington D.C., is among the founders of Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), which launched its effort six
years ago to shed light on the failures of drug policies. Wooldridge
worked 18 years as a police officer in Michigan before helping to
form the group.

LEAP, composed of current and former members of law enforcement and
criminal justice communities, says the policies fail to address the
problems of drug abuse and addiction, as well as problems of
drug-related crime.

Wooldridge begins his visit to the Valley today at Bloomsburg
University. The national speaker will then lead a discussion tonight
at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles in Sunbury. Both public forums
are being sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union's Central
Susquehanna chapter in Lewisburg.

"We're always looking for interesting speakers who can get people to
think and maybe take a new look on things," said David Young, the
Union County vice president of the regional chapter. "LEAP's belief
on the drug policies is a great example. These policies are extremely
expensive and are just not working. There are all kinds of related
issues, such as overcrowding in prisons with nonviolent criminals.
Our criminal justice system is being stretched in all kinds of ways."

According to Young, the public forum will cover LEAP's strategies to
control narcotics, which the group says will save taxpayers billions
of dollars and reduce crime.

Wooldridge claims drugs dealers only fear one thing -- legalization.
Decriminalizing marijuana is just one of a dozen thought-provoking
topics Wooldridge plans to cover, according to Young, who said the
public forums will be great platforms for residents to have their
concerns heard.

"It's time for us to take another look at this (the war on drugs),"
Young said. "It's advantageous for us, as voters and as citizens, to
see what else is out there and if there is a better way to do it."