After the first 18 interviews with my brother
Police Officer and Detective Howard Wooldridge of Lansing, Michigan (retired)
concerning the “War on Drugs”, hundreds of readers responded. U.S. taxpayers do not understand the
incredible deception perpetrated on them by the Drug War. You might even term it a “racket” by those
who stand in the power corridors of Washington, DC.
“Once
upon a time in America a citizen had complete freedom, along with the personal
responsibility, to discover and use anything they believed might help them with
a medical problem,” said Officer Howard Wooldridge. One such discovery
was the medicinal use of cannabis. By the late 19th century its use
had been widely accepted for both human and animal applications. Cannabis
was virtually cost-free to grow, it is classified a weed, highly effective, low
side-effect and low, nearly zero addictive properties. Cannabis was sold
legally and in harmony with its more powerful shelf mates like heroin, morphine
and cocaine. For religious reason Utah in 1914 became the first of
many states to prohibit its sale. In the 21st century its re-introduction
as a medicine is being blocked, not by religion but rather by possibly the most
powerful, well-financed lobby in Washington, “Big Pharma.”
“Why
does Big Pharma spend millions to block cannabis? Simple, the money!
According to industry figures, the world spends roughly 640 billion on
pills. If cannabis were legally obtainable, Big Pharma would lose
somewhere between 1-5 percent of the store-bought pill market; some 6.4 to 30
billion dollars. The Industry knows that to make a campaign contribution
(aka a bribe –put money in the freezer) to a politician is much more
cost-effective than to face God’s medicine on the shelf at the local
pharmacy. The Industry also contributes massively to groups like
Partnership for a Drug-Free America. PDFA’s title is deceptive.
They take money from Big Pharma to make you very afraid of cannabis (it is xx
stronger than 30 years ago, yikes!!) so use Tylenol instead (which actually
kills people every year – the Washington Post just printed several, full-page
ads warning consumers that too much Tylenol can lead to injury and
death). Cannabis of course has never caused a death and its
medicinal use has yet to cause a recorded injury. PDFA’s purpose is
to force you to use the pills of Big Pharma, NOT actually drug-free.
“While
many across North America know the varied problems which cannabis can provide
relief from, scientific research is blocked by the DEA which by law cannot
provide any cannabis for a researcher who wants to see if cannabis is medically
useful. In this manner Big Pharma can direct its mouthpieces to say
there is no USA research to show the efficacy of cannabis (recall then Vice
President Gore in the 2000 debate saying he could not support medical cannabis
because of the lack of research). Nine months into the Obama
administration the DEA is still not allowing medical doctors the cannabis they
need to do research and double blind studies.
“The
four million horse owners and the million or so who raise cattle in this
country might be more interested in this topic, if they knew how widely
cannabis used to be applied to animals. I attended my “rodeo” as a
lobbyist in the winter of 2003 in
Austin, Texas. I had the original 1919 bill which prohibited cannabis use
pulled and copied. The bill contained an exception for both human and
animal needs. A veterinarian had to fill out a form which described the
equine or bovine, the medical problem and the course of the treatment employing
cannabis. As all horse owners know, an equine stomach can tolerate
only small amounts of painkiller for a relatively short time (6-8 weeks of
Bute). Cannabis on the other hand whether applied externally as a
poultice (like on an ankle) or taken internally could be taken in massive
amounts for long periods without adverse problems.
“In
2007 the Swiss government called upon its farmers to stop giving cannabis to
milk-producing cows. The reason was image, not safety. The Swiss
farmers had learned that cows were happier and mellower when fed cannabis &
thus produced more milk. As studies show about 70 percent of humans use cannabis as pain medicine, others
with depression, bi-polar, PTSD and other mental conditions use it effectively
to treat their situation. No doubt high strung horses would
probably benefit from cannabis but studies cannot be done, yet. On a
personal note my wife has spent over 800 dollars for doggie Prozac between the
exams, blood workups and the expensive meds. Probably cannabis would have
chilled out her little poodle for much, much less.
“The
pharmaceutical industry will continue its stranglehold on consumers as long as
we allow it. When police officers resist laws allowing medical marijuana, we
know they are protecting jobs and good overtime checks. When doctors
testify against it, we know that some people will say anything for enough
money. Big Pharma will fight this effective alternative to store-bought
pills until the bitter end. It is all about money. Grow your own
meds in your back yard like President Jefferson did? Forget about it!”
“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, www.citizensopposingprohibition.org , Washington, DC. He speaks at
colleges, political clubs, Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions Clubs across America. He engages citizens around the country to
bring an end to the Drug War. Check out
the web site and join. Book Wooldridge
in your state! Wooldridge also presents at political conferences in Washington.
Howard@citizensopposingprohibition.org
“The mission of COP 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.
“Envision a country which employs the principles of personal
responsibility, personal freedom and limited/effective government toward
marijuana,” Officer Wooldridge said. “I see a growing respect for the police,
as they stop intruding into the decisions of adults, made in the privacy of
their castles. Teens find it as hard to
buy pot as beer. Fewer teens use it
because it lost its glamour. Imagine a
land where the deadly DUI and reckless drivers kill far fewer, as officers
focus on them, not the next pot bust. Envision detectives arresting more child predators as they abandon the
time spent arresting someone selling pot to an adult. All this becomes possible, when America
becomes wiser and abandons the prohibition approach to marijuana.”
Contact: howard@citizensopposingprohibition.org
www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org
##
Frosty Wooldridge has bicycled across six
continents – from the Arctic to the South Pole – as well as six times across
the USA, coast to coast and border to border. In 2005, he bicycled from
the Arctic Circle, Norway to Athens, Greece. He presents “The Coming
Population Crisis in America: and what you can do about it” to civic clubs,
church groups, high schools and colleges. He works to bring about
sensible world population balance at www.frostywooldridge.com He is the author of: America on the Brink: The Next Added 100
Million Americans. Copies: 1 888 280 7715
