LONG RIDER'S LONG SHOT

Howard Wooldridge looks every bit the cowboy with his broad hat, boots and
belt buckle that reads "Long Rider."

But this cowboy and retired detective, who worked 18 years for a police
department in Michigan -- rides with a controversial message that calls for
the legalization of narcotics and suggests that the War on Drugs has failed.

Wooldridge addressed the Helena Rotary Club early Tuesday, laying his facts
and politics on thick as Helena Civic Television taped the session. Some in
the room agreed with Wooldridge's message, while others said nothing at all.

"We in law enforcement know intimately and all too well that this War on
Drugs is a war on people," Wooldridge said. "It's simply old-fashioned
prohibition."

Wooldridge isn't alone in his aim to legalize drugs. As a member of LEAP --
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition -- he joins 1,500 international members
representing retired lawmen who support alternative policies for drug
regulation and control.

Wooldridge's message is difficult for working law enforcement officials to
embrace. In 2002, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, agents made
more than 27,000 arrests in the United States, seizing 61,000 kilograms of
cocaine and 195,000 kilograms of marijuana. Agents also confiscated 118
million doses of methamphetamines and 11 million doses of hallucinogens.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Cheryl Liedle said after the meeting that
Montana faces its own drug scourge, and legalizing such narcotics as meth
and cocaine is a dangerous proposition.

"With meth, there's a very distinct correlation between its use and violent
crime," Liedle said. "It's use is widespread, and people use it because
it's very addictive."

According to the 2003 National Drug Threat Survey, put out by the National
Drug Intelligence Center, meth ranked the highest in Montana when
associated with violent crime, garnering a score of 72.6 percent.

The same survey gave meth a score of 94 percent in availability and a 91
percent in being a social threat. In comparison, marijuana scored a 2.7
percent on the survey.

"If you're looking at other drugs like marijuana, if it's proven to have a
medical use, I have no problem with that (the medical uses)," Liedle said.
"Other drugs are more dangerous, especially methamphetamines. Its use is
widespread, and it's being used because it's very addictive."

In 1973, as part of his State of the Union address, President Richard Nixon
proposed sweeping revisions to the U.S. criminal code by tailoring laws to
deal with the changing face of crime.

In his speech, Nixon noted his opposition to legalizing marijuana. He
called for criminal sanctions against the possession, use and sale of the
drug, saying the country must demand tough legislation if it hoped to
reduce crime.

"Drug use is still public enemy number one in America," Nixon said in 1973.
"Our new code will give us tougher penalties and stronger weapons in the
war against dangerous drugs and organized crime."

But Wooldridge said the War on Drugs, as it's defined, hasn't reduced drug
use in America, but only made it worse.

"President Nixon wanted a new prohibition, and he wrapped his policy in the
flag by calling it the 'War on Drugs,'" Wooldridge said. "The Fourth
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution has almost been busted in half due to
the War on Drugs."

Wooldridge said that in 1970, dealers sold heroin containing a 1.5-percent
purity rate for $6 a dose. By 1999, he said, that same dose was 38 percent
pure and cost the dealer only 80 cents.

Making drugs illegal, he said, drives up the cost, and crime with it.

"You can make all the laws you want, but it's not going to make a
difference on the streets of America," he said. "Let's approach all drugs
on the two principles that made this country great -- liberty and personal
responsibility."

But Liedle says that making drugs legal, and asking users to use them
responsibly, is a poor approach to controlling the social problems that
result, especially where addiction is concerned.

In Helena, she said, legal drugs like OxyContin, Ritalin, Valium, and
Prozac, among others, are still abused despite their legality.

Helena Civic Television will air Wooldridge's talk Tuesday, July 20, at 5
p.m., and Wednesday at 9 p.m.