To the editor: As a police professional, I was saddened to read of the arrest of former Cape Girardeau police detective Paul Tipler. His alleged actions are a disgrace to his department and our profession. I hope and trust that, if convicted, he will receive appropriate punishment. The temptations generated by drugs destroy good police officers every day. How sad. It has been six months since my horse Misty and I crossed the Mississippi River on that old bridge of yours. I hope the next time we trot over that bridge, all drugs will be a medical issue handled by clinics and doctors, not a police nightmare. Howard J. Wooldridge Austin, Texas [end]
WHO'D AH thunk it? More and more Canadians and Americans realize that child molesters and rapists are still roaming free because our police detectives are flying around in helicopters looking for pot in someone's backyard. Except for medicinal purposes, using cannabis is a poor choice. Having us in law enforcement chase it reduces public safety. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) Member Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Austin, Tex. (It certainly doesn't seem to be garnering much benefit) [end]
As a police professional I urge Justice Minister Martin Cauchon to consider the serious reduction in public safety caused by cannabis prohibition in Canada. Every hour spent by police looking for and busting for cannabis, is an hour not spent looking for robbers, rapists and drunk drivers. Except for medical reasons, using cannabis is a poor choice. It is the combination of smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer, all bad choices. Forcing us in law enforcement to chase after it is a horrible waste of good police time. Howard J. Wooldridge Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (Thanks for your perspective.) [end]
Re: Celina schools to start drug testing (April 4 news story). Great idea. Now student athletes will smoke less marijuana. That is the good news. The bad news is that they will use mind-altering drugs, which they can use on Friday that won't show up on a Monday drug test, namely alcohol, ecstasy and cocaine. Are school officials so naive that they think students don't know this? Whatever happened to parental responsibility? Or is the school preparing students to live in a "Big Brother is watching" country? I thought Texas was a conservative state. Howard J. Wooldridge, Austin [end]
Re: "New drug to hit 'like a Mack truck,' " March 23. Calgary police Det. Pat Tetley fears methamphetamine coming on like a Mack truck. Certainly, local governments will experience serious cleanup costs of the illegal meth labs. You might have to build another prison or two to hold those who produce it. All that is caused by the prohibition approach to dangerous drugs. The meth itself is no more dangerous than the amphetamine obtainable from a pharmacy. Would Tetley declare with a straight face that meth use will cause as much pain, suffering and death as the alcohol? Prohibition is the cancer and meth labs are just one of the unintended consequences of this liberal, big-government approach to some dangerous drugs. Howard J. Wooldridge Austin, Tex. Howard J. Wooldridge is a retired police officer and a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. [end]
Dear Editor: Mr. Randell's recent letter regarding the media not asking the right questions are on target (What Charter?, March 19, Airdrie Echo). The police simply won't answer questions about the failure of prohibition -- i.e. why the price of illegal drugs is down; strength and availability are up, and so on. We in law enforcement know that every drug dealer arrested, shot or killed is quickly replaced and our efforts are meaningless. However, it is not our job to tell the public that. That task is for the politicians who pass the laws of prohibition. Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (ret) Member, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.leap.cc) Austin, Tex. [end]
Mack Croft is correct when he asserts that most crime is committed to buy drugs. We in law enforcement know that about 75 percent of all felony crime touches some aspect of prohibition -- from murder to burglary. Mr. Burnett is correct in that essentially nobody steals because they want to buy marijuana. The liberal approach of drug prohibition has always been a failure and always will be. We police officers know that every drug dealer arrested, shot or killed is quickly replaced. Drugs are cheaper, more powerful and more available than ever before. We are truly the mosquito on the butt of an elephant. [continues 53 words]
Pot shots Brian Bergman's thoughts on how to approach cannabis were on target ("Just say 'yes,'" Essay, March 3). Should police spend their time chasing marijuana, when drunk drivers are 10,000 times more dangerous than the average user? In my 15 years as a police officer, I handled some 2,000 accidents, not one of which involved a "stoned" driver. I never went to one call for service generated by the use of cannabis. Cannabis is not a societal problem and rarely a personal one. - -- Howard J. Wooldridge, Austin, Tex. [end]
Brent Biles hit lots of nails on the head with his excellent June 30 column, "Now, some possible solutions to drug problem." As a retired police officer with 15 years' experience in law enforcement, I can state that prohibition guarantees the existence of drug dealers. Prohibition is the root problem Mr. Biles is talking about. Prohibition has not worked since Adam and Eve bit the apple. Eighty-eight years ago, when people could go to the pharmacy and buy cocaine and heroin, about 2 percent of the U.S. population was abusing those two drugs. Today, 2 percent of the population is still abusing those two drugs. [continues 87 words]
Fort Worth, Tex. -- Lynn Crosbie's recent comments on marijuana (Testing Positive With The Stoner Demographic -- June 5) reminded me of Reefer Madness, the 1930s U.S. government propaganda film. I especially liked her comment that users are, "by nature slow and methodical people." I stopped using pot two weeks before starting the police academy. During my seven years of use I became fluent in German and French, received a BA and bench-pressed 130 per cent of my body weight. Slow and methodical types include hundreds of professional athletes, the current mayor of New York and the former president and vice-president of the United States. I am neither for nor against marijuana. I do know that pot smoking causes law enforcement zero problems. The prohibition of pot causes police officers and others to die every day. And for what? Howard J. Wooldridge Retired Police Officer [end]
Larry Nickerson's Feb. 12 commentary on prisons vs. schools was right on the mark. Putting nonviolent drug users in prison is a horrible waste of lives and tax dollars. We do not put alcoholics in prison. Why should we jail someone addicted to cocaine? Now Gov. Rick Perry wants to build even more prisons. I thought Texas A&M graduates were smarter than that. Howard J. Wooldridge, Keller [end]
