New Haven Independent

Howard Wooldridge is a member of LEAP - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition - one of more than 500 members of all branches of law enforcement, from cops on the beat to chiefs of police to federal judges and a governor, mostly retired. He contradicted the common wisdom that the war on drugs is a war to protect America’s children. He spoke at Lincoln-Bassett School Thursday night at a forum sponsored by People Against Injustice. After his talk, an audience member said she was concerned that legalizing drugs would be approving drug use. He disagreed.

Click here to listen to his response.

He said some people might try a drug if it were legalized who wouldn’t otherwise, but no more than would try an illegal drug because it was illegal, and that applies especially to youth, for whom illegal substances possess a special charm.

Wooldridge said he didn’t want to waste any taxpayer money prosecuting or imprisoning adults who used recreational drugs or who abused prescription drugs in the privacy of their homes, like Rush Limbaugh. “I would rather police resources were used to pursue drunk drivers and child molesters,” he said. LEAP’s website mentions that he made a name for himself in Michigan as “Highway Howie,” aggressively going after people driving under the influence.

Allan Brison (pictured above, in the second row) said he would like to see people like Rush Limbaugh prosecuted and imprisoned, even if just for a year, because if wealthy white people faced the same punishment as people of color (or even any jail time), the draconian drug laws currently on the books would be changed a lot faster. As part of a panel discussion after Wooldridge’s talk, Green Party candidate for governor Cliff Thornton mentioned that Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi, who’s white, suffered no apparent social or political consequences when he confessed to using cocaine while in office. But, he added, while African American and Latino males make up just six percent of Connecticut’s population, they comprise almost 70 percent of those incarcerated in the state, most for drug offenses (while all racial groups have about the same level of drug use).

Also on the panel was Sheldon Tucker, a young African American man (pictured, third from left, along with attorney Norm Pattis, Toni Sanabria, a woman in recovery from addiction, and Cliff Thornton). He said he became addicted, not to drugs, but to the money to be made from drugs. He described how young teens admired the drug dealers they knew because they seemed to have it all - fancy cars, jewelry, women. Tucker served time in prison and described the attraction for ex-felons of returning to a life of crime - what he called “the corner” - especially when other options, like pursuing higher education or getting a decent job, were out of reach (higher ed because ex-felons are barred for life from getting financial aid, and good jobs because most employers will not hire ex-cons.)

Click here to listen.

After the forum, organizer Barbara Fair of People Against Injustice (and Tucker’s mother), said neither the law enforcement establishment nor elected officials will do much to change the current drug laws - and the punishment disproportionately meted out to people of color - until those most affected demand a change.