THE WAR ON DRUGS

Reform group speaks in favor of prohibition

Howard J. Wooldridge, member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, was
invited to speak Wednesday to members of the Oklahoma Conservative Political
Action Committee at a luncheon in Edmond.

Dubbed "Highway Howie" for his reputation in enforcement of drunk driving
laws in Michigan, Wooldridge has been recognized as the number one enforcer
of drunk driving laws in America by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, he said.

The LEAP organization has grown to include more than 1,000 members - police
officers, judges, prosecutors, corrections officers and law enforcement
personnel dedicated to ending prohibition, he said. "I learned first-hand
the damage done by drug users in this country because of prohibition,"
Wooldridge said of his law enforcement experience.

People who use and abuse illegal drugs often have to break into other
peoples' homes to steal in order to support their addiction, he said. "It's
not the use of the drug that's causing the crime, but the prohibition of the
drug that causes the price to go up," he said. "Does anyone in here believe
we're winning the war on drugs?" he asked. "How many of you believe that
with enough police and enough prisons, one day it will be difficult to buy
an illegal drug in America?"

Wooldridge called Rush Limbaugh the current "poster child" for the issue of
illegal drug use. "If indeed he's guilty, how many of you in here want to
pay the taxes to put Rush Limbaugh and the other millions of Americans who
use illegal drugs in prison for three to five years?" Wooldridge asked.

Part of the solution, he said, is for Americans to switch their thinking to
drug use being a medical issue and not a criminal problem. Enforcing drug
prohibition laws only makes the pool of drug dealers smarter and better, he
said. "We in law enforcement know that every drug dealer ever arrested or
shot and killed has been replaced just like that," Wooldridge said, snapping
his fingers. "They accept as a condition of employment the risk of death and
even long prison terms. The reasons they accept that is because they're
desperate, or they're idiots. We cannot prevent people from being desperate
or idiots...

"After 35-odd years of the drug war, we either catch the stupid ones and
other drug dealers kill or drive off the other weak ones. What do you have
left after 35 years? Smart, mean drug dealers. Every time we arrest one, the
herd - if you will - gets better."

Wooldridge said the money spent to build prisons and incarcerate drug
abusers is money that doesn't go to other important issues like public
education. Charlie Meadows, chairman of the OCPAC, said that while members
of the committee may not agree with Wooldridge's views, it's important to
give opposing viewpoints the opportunity to be expressed.

"I think what it did was get all of the committee members to at least think
about drug reform and its impact on our society," said Richard Prawdzienski,
who attended Wednesday's meeting.