Pubdate: Wed, 03 Sep 2008
Source: Daily Item (Sunbury, PA)
Copyright: 2008 The Daily Item
Contact:  http://www.dailyitem.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1045
Author: Jaime North, The Daily Item
Cited: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition http://leap.cc

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."
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