Pubdate: Thu, 21 Jul 2005
Source: Core Weekly (Madison, WI)
Copyright: 2005 Core Weekly
Contact:  http://www.coreweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3593
Author: Tim Cigelske
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?233 (LEAP)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/howard+wooldridge

FORMER COP WANTS DRUGS LEGALIZED

Howard Wooldridge is trying to change the world with a horse, a
T-shirt and a fiery zeal.  He believes that to save lives, lower crime
and conserve tax dollars for such things as education, the
multi-billion dollar drug war must be ended. It's too soon to tell if
he's left an impact, but say this for the man: He knows how to get
attention.

It's hard not to notice a guy in a cowboy hat and spurs riding a horse
through urban areas - as he did recently in Madison - wearing a
T-shirt that reads "Cops Say Legalize Drugs. Ask Me Why."

Can he even do that in the city?

"A horse has all the rights and privileges of a bicycle," Wooldridge
says.

He should know the law. Wooldridge, 54, spent 18 years as a police
officer near Lansing, Mich. It was that time in the trenches that
convinced him that the drug war was futile and harmful, a realization
that inspired this cross-country journey.

"Some people think I'm a flaming liberal," he tells coreweekly while
seeking shade after a sweltering 25-mile ride. "No, no, no, no. I'm
for privacy rights and personal responsibility."

Wooldridge fashions himself a modern-day Paul Revere, traversing the
countryside on horseback and shouting out a warning for all to hear.
But instead of summoning the minutemen, Wooldridge is slowly
recruiting troops behind his groundswell movement.

"Call me an optimist, call me crazy, call me a muffin head," he says.
"But I think we'll get it done in 10-15 years."

Wooldridge is certainly doing all he can to further that goal. In
2003, he made his first cross-country trip to raise awareness on the
back of his faithful one-eyed horse Misty. He's also a founding member
of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and a lobbyist in the
Texas legislature that helped pass a bill excluding jail time for
first-time offenders caught with drugs for personal use.

In May he started up a second cross-country journey from Los Angeles
to New York, which he hopes to reach by November. On this trip he is
finding people a lot more receptive to his ideas.

"Last time 90 percent walked away from me thinking I was a lunatic,"
he said. "Now they're coming back with intelligent questions: 'Is it
working elsewhere?' 'Who else is trying this?' America is waking up to
the fact that prisons are useless."

In his dirty wrangler blue jeans, two-day stubble and folksy
colloquialisms, it might be easy to dismiss Wooldridge on first
glance. But he's nothing if not armed and knowledgeable. He readily
shares details of the "complete failure" of Plan Columbia, the toll of
gang warfare over drug turf, and the little-known HR1528 proposition
that he calls "the snitch law."

Some of his arguments are familiar to legalization advocates, but
Wooldridge is intent on doing more than preaching to the choir. His
unusual crusade invariably garners press in every city he stops in,
and he estimates that he's personally spoken with some 14,000 citizens
on the street. He never tires of it and his passion never seems to
wane.

"Give me 18 minutes and I can convert a lot of people," he says. "You
just have to ask people, which is more important to you, going after
the child molesters and drunk drivers, or chasing after Rush Limbaugh
and Willie Nelson? Let's have our police focus on looking for the bad
guys."

And if people are still not convinced, he has an answer for them,
too.

"If I'm wrong," he says, "We can always go back to where we are now:
When drugs are cheaper, more potent and more readily available than
ever before."

INSET with photo of Howard on horseback:
What: Retired police officer and drug legalization advocate Howard
Wooldridge
When: Thursday, July 21, 7 p.m.
Where: Senior Center, 330 W. Mifflin St.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin