- This fifth in a series of articles pertaining to the
"War on Drugs" illustrates a huge disconnect from our government
toward average citizens.
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- I interviewed my brother, 18 year veteran police officer
and detective, Howard Wooldridge (retired), with Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition, <http://www.leap.cc/>www.leap.cc , now stationed in
Washington, DC.
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- "One hundred and forty two years ago lawmakers amended
the United States Constitution to eliminate slavery and give full citizenship
to the freed slaves," Officer Wooldridge said. "How well has
'freedom' worked for the descendants of slaves? Certainly there has been
tremendous progress in the past several decades. Record numbers of African-Americans
hold elected offices and important positions in government.
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- "Just as certain, millions have been put in chains,
lost their votes, even had their children taken away from them. Black
neighborhoods are too often plagued with violence, crime and despair.
For over 100 years Jim Crow kept the black population from enjoying citizenship.
In the past 36 years the 'War on Drugs' has devastated African-Americans
nearly as much as Jim Crow."
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- By the late 1960s Jim Crow laws of the South disappeared.
The KKK's power to intimidate blacks and local politicians vanished like
a raindrop in the Sahara Desert. With the Voting Rights Act of 1965, millions
of blacks voted for the first time. African-Americans made progress economically,
educationally, spiritually and politically. The Old South would never
be the same, or at least it seemed that would happen. The future appeared
bright.
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- "Then, President Nixon launched a 'War on Drugs'
in 1971," Officer Wooldridge said. "He committed the United States
to a 'drug-free' America, established the Drug Enforcement Administration
and poured money into law enforcement to stop this 'scourge.' President
Reagan continued this battle cry of a 'drug-free' America and added mandatory
minimums to those possessing or selling drugs. . We in law enforcement
knew it to be a "War on People" and mostly People of Color.
Whether by design, ignorance or lack of research, the New Prohibition
policy has been nothing short of devastating to people of color and black
Americans in particular.
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- "Due to racial profiling and the nature by which
blacks sell drugs openly on the streets, they are incarcerated at a ratio
of about eight to one over white drug dealers. As they are more visible
to buyers, so are they more obvious to others who want the dealer's money,
drugs and selling turf. Thus, everyone buys weapons to protect themselves
or to rob and kill the dealers. Black neighborhoods have been for decades
plagued by gunfire and death. Minor disputes escalate into deadly force
being employed. The quality of life in a black neighborhood, never that
prosperous, has been dramatically lowered due to another, unintended consequence
of drug prohibition."
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- Life has been cheapened by the decades of violent deaths.
A recent drive-by shooting in Washington DC resulted in seven people hit
by bullets as everyone ducked for cover. Because it happened that the
victims were black, the local paper buried it on page 17. Since the policy
of the drug war gives a job option to a million teens, thousands have been
shot and killed. However, no one outside the victim's family raises an
eyebrow when a 15 year old dies on the corner. We no longer react to the
horror of a violent death at such a young age.
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- "Homeowners put iron bars across all the windows,
trying to stop thieves," Officer Wooldridge said. "Every year
dozens of black children die in house fires, unable to get out. These
young, innocent victims never saw another birthday because of drug prohibition.
You may not count them as drug war victims but I do.
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- "A political solution has become more difficult,
as a convicted felon cannot vote while in prison and in many states will
never be able to vote again. The felons have become less than a full citizen.
Slaves used to be considered three fifths of a person for population purposes.
Perversely black prisoners now are coveted by rural areas which are losing
population. Why? Prisoners count towards the population of the county,
even as they cannot vote. Thus rural areas have more representation than
justified. Legislators in Upstate New York are fighting changes to drug
sentencing laws because it would reduce their voting power. They need
the prisoners to count as residents.
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- "As I rode my horse thru New York in 2005 on my
way from Los Angeles to the Big Apple, I learned that 93 percent of the
States' prisoners (on drug offenses) were black or brown. This despite
every survey showing that people color neither use nor sell more than their
percentage of the population. Did politicians ask or did they want to
remain ignorant of what race would be butchered with a 100:1 disparity
is sentences for crack vs. powder cocaine? Either way, 20 years later
they are still allowing a 70:1 ratio."
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- In the 1990s pregnant, black South Carolina women for
several years were singled out to be drug tested. When tested positive,
they suffered arrest after the birth of their child. Authorities took
the child away. This ended when the Supreme Court stepped in to stop this
baby-snatching.
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- "Where slave-owners or the KKK used to cause so
much pain, suffering and death now it is the effects of the New Prohibition,"
Officer Wooldridge said. "When will we become as wise
as our grandparents and end this most dysfunctional, devastating, immoral
policy since slavery?"
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- As you can imagine, my brother Howard tells me the inside
stories facing Americans concerning the "War on Drugs." Because
the DEA enjoys $70 billion annually in paychecks, everyone involved wants
the "War on Drugs" to continue. The department exists to exist.
It's like a plane being held in a circular pattern around an airport,
but never allowed to land. It burns up fuel, wastes time and accomplishes
nothing! However, you, the American taxpayer forked over $1 trillion in
the past 35 years with zero results!
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- Today, my brother Howard Wooldridge heads up a task force
in Washington, DC to educate and enlighten congressmen at the highest levels.
He works for a better future for all Americans. He can be reached at:
Education Specialist, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, <http://www.leap.cc/>www.leap.cc
, Washington, DC. He speaks at colleges, political clubs, Rotary, Kiwanis
and Lions Clubs across America. He presents at political conferences in
Washington. <mailto:wooldridge@leap.cc>wooldridge@leap.cc
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- The mission of LEAP is to reduce the multitude of unintended
harmful consequences resulting from fighting the war on drugs and to lessen
the incidence of death, disease, crime, and addiction by ultimately ending
drug prohibition.
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- "Envision a world where crime is cut in half, terrorists
don't make money selling drugs and kids are not employed in the drug trade,"
Wooldridge said. "Envision a world where the police focus on DUI,
child predators and terrorists. Imagine a world where if you have a drug
problem, you see a doctor not a judge. All are possible, when we find
the courage to end our Prohibition."
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- © 2007 Frosty Wooldridge - All Rights Reserved
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