Re: "Get crime off street? They see one way," Dec. 26: As a retired police detective, perhaps I can help Steve Carmichael in reducing crime in Camden by 50 percent overnight. His idea of a one-way street may be of some slight benefit in reducing crime and violence, but it is just a slight nibble at the edges. The cancer, the up-stream problem, is the policy of drug prohibition. End it and no more drugs will be sold on the sidewalks. Customers would park their car and walk into a state-regulated store, just like Pennsylvania has for the two deadliest drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Ending prohibition is not a solution for the drug problem. It is a time-tested solution to the crime associated with prohibition. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) Education Specialist, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Washington [end]
During my 18 years of police service near Lansing, Mich., I went to zero calls for service generated by the use of marijuana. As I focused on the deadly threat of DUI drivers, too many of my colleagues like Tom Gorman (editorial, Oct. 10) spent their shift trying to find a baggie of marijuana. Please end marijuana prohibition and allow my colleagues to focus on DUI, child molesters and other public-safety threats. Howard J. Wooldridge Louisville [end]
To the Editor, As the debate takes place on October 17th, keep this in mind. As an organization of hundreds of law enforcement professionals, we support the Nevada effort to have the governement, not criminals, regulate marijuana. Marijuana prohibition reduces public safety. Road officers in Nevada will spend about as much time searching for a baggie of pot, as they do searching and arresting DUIs. Detectives/narcs who bust those who sell adults an ounce of pot are not at that moment searching for child molestors, rapists and those breaking into our homes. [continues 60 words]
As a retired police officer with 18 years experience, I am surprised that in 2006 you still say that "crime is driven by drugs" ("Budget cuts: What happened to drug 'war?' " Oct. 5 editorial). It is the prohibition of drugs which causes 75 percent of felony crime - not the use. If we were as wise as our grandparents and ended the new prohibition, we would experience a tremendous drop in felony crime. Also, a serious drop in DUI deaths would result because then officers could focus on drunk drivers instead of Willie Nelson. As Thomas Paine wrote in The American Crisis in 1776: "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." Howard J. Wooldridge Member Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Frederick, Md. [end]
As a police officer, I arrested about 400 drivers for DUI of alcohol and 2 for DUID (both intoxicated on prescription pain killers). In 18 years of police service, I went to zero calls for service generated by the use of marijuana. Pot, like any mind-altering drug, is a poor choice, and I urge everyone to be as drug-free as possible. However, chasing pot users is a horrible waste of good police time. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) Member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Washington, D.C. [end]
As a retired Michigan police officer, your call for a harder fight in the war on drugs made me chuckle. After 35 years and a trillion dollars spent, 100,000 dead Americans and 2 million in prison, drugs are cheaper, stronger and readily available to kids. The policy of drug prohibition has been and will always be an abject failure. There is too much money to be made. Legalize, regulate and tax the 10 illegal drugs. If you have a drug problem one day, see a doctor. Howard J. Wooldridge Frederick, Md. [end]
As a police officer, I worked the trenches of the war on drugs for 18 years. Mr. Melloan's comments were right on. I would add that as we chase pot smokers, etc., we have less time to arrest DUIs, pedophiles and people who fly airplanes into buildings. As a detective, 75% of my case load was generated by drug prohibition. Drug gangs now plague medium and even small towns. What part of this policy is benefiting America? None of it. Howard J. Wooldridge Education Specialist Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.leap.cc) Washington [end]
Editor: Re: Whatever happened to the pot debate? Thomas Barker, Barking at the Big Dog, Houston Today, Jan. 25 - Yet another marijuana grow-op busted near Hungry Hill. I heartily agree with your article on the monumental waste of police time chasing the Willie Nelsons of the world and their suppliers. In Alaska simple possession of up to four ounces in the privacy of one's little castle has been legal for over two years. There has been a thundering silence of problems associated with that legalization. As a retired police officer, I applaud Alaska's law. Marijuana prohibition is a horrible waste of good police time. In my 18 years of police experience I was dispatched to zero calls for service generated by the use of marijuana. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) Education Specialist, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.leap.cc) Washington, D.C. [end]
In my 18 years of police experience, I never went to one call generated by the use of marijuana. Why? Alcohol releases reckless, aggressive or violent feelings by its use. Marijuana use generates the opposite effects in the vast majority of people. Every major study by the U.S. government has shown it not to be a gateway drug. Indeed, President Nixon's Shaffer Commission recommended it be legal, regulated and sold to adults. Mr. Rice is a believer in the prohibition approach which has made pot much easier for kids to buy than alcohol. While he was wasting time on pot, I was arresting hundreds of drunk drivers, saving the lives of innocent citizens. I challenge him to name one substantive advantage of prohibition. Howard J. Wooldridge Retired Officer, Education Specialist Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Frederick, Md. [end]
As a retired police officer, I found Mr. Stoker's defense of drug prohibition so sad. He refuses to recognize that prohibition causes 75 percent of felony crime decade after decade. Drug use is a consensual act, whether it's whiskey or pot. Murder, rape, etc is a non-consensual act and will always remain illegal. As legal drugs kill at a 55:1 ratio over illegal drugs, he wants my profession to continue chasing pot smokers instead of focusing on drunk drivers who killed 17,000 innocent Americans last year. [continues 56 words]
As a police detective in Michigan, I was fully aware of the problems that the Prince George's County police face ["Bullets Keep Flying," editorial, Dec. 7]. I learned that drug laws generated about 75 percent of my caseload and that nonviolent felonies often were not investigated because of lack of time. Switzerland has cut its felony crime in half by having the state regulate and sell heroin to addicts in a government program. What part of drug prohibition is making Prince George's County a safer place to live? Will we ever be as wise as our grandparents and end drug prohibition? Howard J. Wooldridge Frederick The writer is a director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. [end]
Re: "Terrorism of the cartels," by Jill Sandoval, Saturday Letters. As a retired police officer, I share Ms. Sandoval's concern that illegal drugs fund terrorism. We in law enforcement are completely aware after 35 years of a drug war that we cannot even slow down drugs, let alone stop them. (Meth is an excellent example.) Legalizing and regulating these drugs would completely eliminate this source of funding for terrorists, like Osama bin Laden and North Korea. Howard J. Wooldridge, education specialist, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Dallas [end]
After 35 years of drug war, a half trillion dollars spent and tens of thousands of Americans killed, you correctly describe a terrible world filled with the violence and death of drug prohibition. After 35 years of going backwards (drugs are cheaper and stronger than ever), how many decades of drug dealers saturating Durham with their destruction are you proposing the people endure and suffer and pay for? Editor's note: The writer is an education specialist in the organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Washington, D.C. Frederick, Md. [end]
American needs to end pot prohibition. Roughly, smoking marijuana is the combination of drinking a beer and smoking tobacco, both legal for adults. Every hour our profession spends chasing the suppliers of pot means we miss DUIs, rapists and other public safety threats. Even a high-ranking official of MADD I spoke to agrees that police time could be better spent. We have been at this pot war for 35 years and have nothing to show for it, except prisons full of the wrong people. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge, retired Member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Washington, D.C. [end]
How is the "War on Drugs" working for us in America? Is it reducing crime? Is it reducing rates of death and disease? Is it effective in keeping drugs and drug dealers away from our children? These are important questions for a policy that costs us taxpayers some $70 billion this year. As a police officer, I fought on the side of the "good guys" for 15 years in this war. I gained a lot of actual experience in the trenches. [continues 419 words]
Regarding "Committee rejects tougher beer sales" (news story, Feb. 16): Rep. Thad Balkman's bill to save lives by increasing penalties for supplying alcohol to minors failed -- and rightfully so. If increased penalties for supplying illegal drugs worked, Oklahoma would have become drug-free 20 years ago. Balkman should introduce a bill that would actually save lives and injury; namely, when a teen is dying of an alcohol or drug overdose, make the call to 911 an arrest-free act, no matter who supplied the drug or alcohol. Having cops and paramedics step over a dead body to catch the drug supplier is a pro-death policy that no parent supports. Howard J. Wooldridge, Norman [end]
Dallas -- Re Will The Real Dopes In This Marijuana-Use Study Please Stand Up? (Feb. 11): Shocking that smoking 350 joints a week is not healthy. Beware: 140 cups of coffee in one hour will deliver a lethal dose of caffeine. Eating 10 raw potatoes may kill you. How can such a study on pot be used to justify cannabis prohibition? Thanks for the chuckle. Howard J. Wooldridge media director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition [end]
Editor, The Transcript: Your headline trumpets 100 marijuana plants seized on one day. The next day Chief Cotten laments that drunk drivers killed five citizens last year. In the Chief's report I did not read that marijuana use had caused any deaths. As a retired police officer, I know that if the Norman police would focus on the deadly threat of drunk drivers, death and injury caused by DUIs would go down. The Transcript could help by recognizing Norman officers who arrest two or more DUIs on one shift. Publicize their life-saving efforts. Put meaningless, public-safety reducing marijuana busts on the back page where they belong. Howard J. Wooldridge, (retired) Media Director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Norman [end]
Editor, Edward Hill's comments on cannabis prohibition were spot on. However he, like most others, leave out how this prohibition reduces public safety. All the police hours spent busting grow-ops could have been spent finding rapists and thieves and drunk drivers. The advice of the Canadian Senate is to treat cannabis just like whiskey: legal/regulated and taxed. Let the police concentrate on public safety. Howard J. Wooldridge, (Retired) Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, http://leap.cc/ Dallas, Texas [end]
Dr. Hoffman keeps mentioning Marinol as an answer [Re: 3rd Degree, Jan. 6]. Two pills a day cost over a thousand dollars a month. For those without health insurance and no money, what does he suggest? Eat cake? Marijuana he admits has at least some efficacy. The prohibition of marijuana has all to do with keeping up the profits of the pharmaceutical industry. Whom is he trying to kid? Howard J. Wooldridge Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Dallas, Texas [end]
Professor Shelden's comments were accurate and this reader appreciates you have the courage to print them ["Expensive Drug War Still Not Working," Dec. 30]. As a retired police officer, my feeling is the only area he left blank was the reduction in public safety caused by drug prohibition. As my colleagues chase marijuana, DUIs killed 17,000 innocents every year. Year after year, about 75 percent of felony crime is caused by drug prohibition (not the use of drugs). Will we ever be as wise as our grandparents and end drug prohibition? Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired), Media Director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, http://www.leap.cc/ Dallas, Texas [end]
Regarding "Interstate buy ways; Meth cooks head for the border" (Our Views, Jan. 4): You are mistaken in saying state policy "appears instrumental in reducing the meth problem here in Oklahoma." Meth is still readily available, imported from other states or Mexico. The meth prohibition in Oklahoma and elsewhere continues to be a failure. Drug prohibition reduces public safety. Will we ever be as wise as our grandparents and end the New Prohibition? Howard J. Wooldridge Norman [end]
As a retired police officer, I completely agree with the editorial's view that simple possession of pot should be treated the same as if someone ran a stop sign. Houston Rep. Harold Dutton's bill would allow my colleagues to write a quick ticket and then be available for serious crimes such as catching drunken drivers. This is a no-brainer. Howard J. Wooldridge Dallas [end]
J.B. Cole is correct in that marijuana is a mind-altering drug that like alcohol, etc, all should avoid. After that truth, Mr. Cole engaged in a bit of his own "reefer madness." The most glaring "fact" involved treatment. More kids are in treatment for pot than alcohol because they are given a choice -- treatment or jail. They rarely, if ever, are given that Faustian choice with alcohol. Of course, kids choose treatment, even if they don't need it. [continues 104 words]
Dear Editor, What evidence do you possess to believe that more alcohol prohibition on campus (of OK U) will be helpful? Prohibition has never worked well since Adam and Eve bit on the apple. A huge problem will remain, even if all the new ideas are implemented. Since 21 year olds who supply booze are afraid of being arrested, they will not call 911, when the underage drinker is dying. Oklahoma needs to make drug over-dose calls an arrest-free act. What parent would want the police to catch the person who supplied the booze at the cost of their dead child? Howard J. Wooldridge, Norman, Retired Police Officer [end]
Thank you for a balanced report on the nation's policy of drug prohibition. As a retired police officer, I would only add that every hour my colleagues spend chasing dope often means one more drunk driver and one more child molester is loose to hurt and kill innocents. We are a "Thin Blue Line." Where should we focus our efforts? Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) media director Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Dallas [end]
To the editor: I am against recreational drug use as much as Rev. Gorham. However, as a retired police officer, I have to ask, what part of drug prohibition is helping any individual, community or country? The two deadliest drugs in Canada are legal, regulated and taxed. Imagine 'winning' the drug war. Mankind has been using mind-altering drugs for thousands of years. Five million Canadians switch from marijuana, cocaine and heroin to whiskey. Who believes that Canada would be better off with alcoholics instead of potheads? Given the amount of violence and death associated with the use of alcohol, from a law enforcement standpoint, replacing marijuana with whiskey would be a five-alarm disaster. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge Media director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Dallas, Texas [end]
Dear Editor, Your conclusions that ending marijuana prohibition would resolve nothing left me puzzled. The government would purchase cannabis from growers, put a reasonable tax on it and sell it. Grown legally, cannabis will be very, very cheap, i.e. not worth the trouble for most people or for smugglers to grow their own. Those who want to smuggle it to America will do what bootleggers did in the 20s and 30s; buy the product legally in Canada and ship it across the border. America's folly of cannabis prohibition should be no excuse for Canada to continue its participation. Moreover, it will allow my colleagues to refocus on public safety threats like drunk drivers and rapists. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) Media Director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition [end]
Like the recent announcement by drug czar John Walters that the $3.3 billion "Plan Colombia" is a total failure, so too will be Oklahoma's new law to combat meth labs. If all 50 states adopt the ban on pseudoephedrine, meth will be produced in Mexico and smuggled in. Not only will there be an abundant supply of meth, but more dollars will be lost to the economy of Mexico. This policy of drug prohibition/war on drugs is a costly failure. Howard J. Wooldridge Dallas Wooldridge is media director of a group called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. [end]
Visiting your fair city Friday, I read about the drug bust and the arrest of 25 dealers. Has the Orlando Sentinel already informed its readers that such drug busts are meaningless? Every police officer knows that the only net effect of arresting a drug dealer is the taxpayers will have to build another useless prison. The 25 arrested will all be replaced within about three weeks, according to federal studies. There is always someone stupid enough or desperate enough to become a drug dealer. Will we ever be as wise as our grandparents and end drug prohibition? Howard J. Wooldridge, Media director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Dallas [end]
AS A retired police officer, I completely agree with the comments of your columnist Karl Minns. In my 18 years of experience, I never went to one call for service generated by the use of cannabis. Now the prohibition of cannabis gets an officer killed in the States nearly every month and we end up shooting a number of people who grow or sell cannabis. As an educated and intelligent people, the UK should lead the world by being the first to end cannabis prohibition. Officer Howard J Wooldridge (retired) Moorcroft Dallas Texas [end]
Re: "For Sale: B.C. Bud," Editorial, June 14. As a retired police officer, I found your condemnation of the Fraser report missed a huge point: namely, the reduction in public safety caused by cannabis prohibition. Constables seek out cannabis while drunk drivers kill innocents, as our attention is diverted from public safety. Crimes like shoplifting and murder are non-consensual crimes and should remain on the books. Joe Citizen using marijuana in the privacy of his home is a bad choice, but he is not a threat to the public. Do you want to follow the U.S.'s lead and start building prisons in a hopeless attempt to deter Canadians from growing cannabis? Howard J. Wooldridge Dallas, Texas Howard Wooldridge is media director for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. [end]
Not all cops favor building more prisons because of the Rockefeller Drug Law. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is lobbying to regulate all drugs and make personal responsibility once again the cornerstone of our drug laws. Our collective thousands of years in the trenches showed us that the net effect of arresting a drug dealer was zero difference on the streets and the taxpayers were forced to build yet another prison. Drug prohibition is a cancer destroying our youth and our country. Will we ever be as wise as our grandparents and end drug prohibition? Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) Media Director Law Enforcement Against Prohibition http://www.leap.cc Dallas [end]
As a retired officer, I would like to spare the taxpayers of Asheville a million dollars and false hopes. All law-enforcement professionals know that every drug dealer ever arrested or killed is quickly replaced. The only net effect of an arrest is the taxpayers have to build another prison. We can arrest more people if you hire the 12 officers, but it will not reduce the drug problem one iota. The policy is prohibition - didn't work for our grandparents, not working in 2004. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) media director Law Enforcement Against Prohibition www.leap.cc Dallas, Texas [end]
As a retired police officer, I had to chuckle at U.S. Rep. Brad Carson's idea for yet another federal law to make a difference in stopping the production of meth, the moonshine of the 21st century. We've been trying such tiny measures for 34 years to make our policy of drug prohibition work. All have failed and so would this one. The cancer in our nation is drug prohibition. Let us be as wise as our grandparents, make personal responsibility the cornerstone of drug policy and end prohibition. Howard J. Wooldridge Dallas [end]
Editor: Corruption of police officers and drug task forces seem to go hand in hand in Texas these days (24th and 25th task forces, Tulia, Dallas Sheetrock scandal, etc.). How sad for my profession. Lt. Stan Bonewitz (March 31 Wilson County News) of the Department of Public Safety might have added that it really does not matter if drug dealers are arrested or not. All cops know, but few will admit to the public, that every drug dealer ever arrested has been replaced quickly. Thus, arresting or even killing them does not put a dent in the supply of drugs or drug dealers. Prohibition, you gotta love it. Retired officer and Media director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Dallas [end]
Dear Editor: As a retired police officer, I am amazed at your lack of understanding regarding the dynamics of cannabis prohibition in Canada. Prohibition causes the price of marijuana to become more valuable, ounce for ounce, than gold. This creates jobs for those who want to make a lot of easy money despite the risks. Criminals gravitate to these illegal jobs and that begets violence within the industry because these entrepreneurs cannot go to court to settle differences. End cannabis prohibition and you'll see an end to 99 per cent of the criminal and safety problems associated with growing and selling marijuana. More importantly, that would allow the (police) in Canada to pursue and arrest real criminals who hurt other people. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) Member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Dallas, Texas [end]
As a retired police officer, I appreciate your thoughts on reducing police time used to enforce marijuana prohibition. Indeed, the Thin Blue Line has much more important tasks, like DUI enforcement, etc. I urge the Boulder City Council to enact a "Seattle 75" type of policy. Until marijuana is again a legal, regulated and taxed product, we should do all we can to focus my colleagues on public-safety threats. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired)/via Internet [end]
As a retired police officer, I appreciated your editorial on medical marijuana. Federal law enforcement aside, this is a state's rights issue, the same as alcohol. Authorizing patients in Wisconsin to legally possess marijuana would present few problems to law enforcement. Patients could have an ID card issued by the state to possess marijuana, like the state issues a license to drive on the road. Show the card and there is no issue for the officer. Howard J. Wooldridge, member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Mount Horeb [end]
As a retired police officer, I had to chuckle and then cry over the statements from Ms. Morgan ("Group's reaction puzzles resident," Jan. 23) concerning the 50-year sentence (for Kado Jackson). Ms. Morgan, we in law enforcement know that every drug dealer arrested or killed is quickly replaced. If you want to end the violence and death and 75 percent of the felony crime in Mississippi, you need to get rid of drug prohibition. A policy whose cornerstone is personal responsibility would help both individuals and society. The government and its police are not the answer. Howard J. Wooldridge, member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, (www.leap.cc) Dallas, Texas [end]
Editor: As a retired police officer, my area of expertise is law enforcement. I am sure that RCMP Cpl. Tomalty is also well-versed in his chosen career. DARE has been shown over and over again to have no meaningful influence on whether a teenager uses drugs, legal or illegal. DARE does not give students the information they need to make a wise choice not to do drugs, rather the simplistic - drugs are bad, don't do drugs. DARE lumps cannabis in with heroin as deadly substances. [continues 73 words]
To the Editor: 1984 is riding into town on the back of the methods used by the police and society in the drug war. Warrant less, suspicion less searches using urine or dogs is indoctrinating our youth to accept Big Brother as their guardian angel. Whatever happened to parental responsibility? Since drugs are cheaper, stronger and easier to buy than 30 years ago, what good is drug prohibition? Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired), Member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Dallas, Texas [end]
As a retired police officer, I read with interest your Nov. 18 opinion piece, "Time to find new ways to fight drugs," advocating safe-injections sites for drug addicts. The three co-authors are correct when they say safe-injection sites are far more effective than the law enforcement in fighting drug addiction. In my professional experience, I have learned every drug dealer ever arrested or killed is replaced within days. Drugs are cheaper, stronger and easier to buy than 30 years ago. The time and money we and the prison system spend on drug prohibition is a complete waste. Worse, prohibition efforts mean less time spent looking for real criminals like drunk drivers and rapists. All drug use and abuse should be dealt with by doctors and clinics, not police and prisons. Howard J. Wooldridge Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.leap.cc) Dallas, Tex. [end]
As a police officer, I know the futility and failure of drug prohibition. Sheriff Al Cannon believes that the liberal notion that more police and prisons (more government) can prevent people from putting things in their mouths tells me he must be a rookie ("Legalize this," City Beat, Nov. 12). Worse, his belief in prohibition causes our kids to grow up in a world infested with drug dealers and their free samples. Prohibition sucks our youth into criminality. I challenge sheriff Cannon to name one positive outcome of prohibition. Howard J. Wooldridge (retired), Member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.leap.cc), Dallas, Texas [end]
As a retired police officer, I know that drug dealers accept, as a condition of employment, risk of death and long prison terms. A recent letter writer's idea that making Florida's prisons into hellholes would deter criminals is naive. Drug dealers only exist because of the prohibition on narcotics. Will we ever be as wise as our grandparents, who abandoned the prohibition of alcohol, and end this failed and futile approach to drugs? Howard J. Wooldridge Keller, Texas [end]
As a retired police officer and one who is trying to end the prohibition of marijuana in this country, I appreciated your enlightened commentary on medical marijuana. Not only is it as good or better than some pills, let us not forget that some 50 million Americans have no health insurance in which to buy medicine. For them, God's plant can take the place of pills and can be grown for free in the basement. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge, retired [end]
Rebecca Graber's comments about cannabis ("The fragrant winds of change", September 23) were spot on. From a law enforcement standpoint, cannabis is not a societal problem. In my 15 years as a police officer I never went to one call for service generated by the use of cannabis. Canada and the US need to legalize, regulate and tax cannabis tomorrow. Let us get the police chasing drunk drivers and others who actually hurt someone else. - -Officer Howard J. Wooldridge Fort Worth, Texas Member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.leap.cc) [end]
I enjoyed Schoenkopf's piece on marijuana. The only item I would add regards public safety. As a police officer, I know that every hour spent looking for pot by officers reduces public safety. This year, we will spend roughly 10 million hours looking for pot under a kid's front seat--after we already know that driver is not intoxicated. Meanwhile, drunk drivers sail past these traffic stops and kill 18,000 innocent people. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) Member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition ( www.leap.cc ) Fort Worth, Texas [end]
Of course we in law enforcement lie about the number of drug users, etc. (Editorial, Aug. 6). How else to force politicians to give us more money, which means more cops, which means more promotions to sergeant or lieutenant? As a retired police officer and a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, I know drug prohibition is a cash cow for those in police work and they have milked this baby for 30 years, even though we have never eliminated one drug job as a result. All drug dealers arrested or killed are quickly replaced. Prohibition, you gotta love it. Howard J. Wooldridge Keller, Texas [end]
Having citizens report meth labs is like reporting a moonshine still 80 years ago. As you bust up one, another springs up. While not ignoring the real dangers posed by meth labs, you might encourage your readers to do some critical thinking of why meth labs exist at all; namely, drug prohibition. Moonshine used to blind or kill its users, while meth labs contaminate an area, both bad things. Will we ever be as wise as our grandparents and end drug prohibition and return to a policy based on personal responsibility (like we have with alcohol and cigarettes)? Howard J. Wooldridge Member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition [end]
