Howard Rahtz has a dual background in drug treatment & drug interdiction, providing him with first hand experience of our drug prohibition policy. His career in law enforcement spanned 18 years where he rose to the rank of Police Captain in the Cincinnati Police Department. His journey in law enforcement and drug rehabilitation is an interesting parallel to the 40-years of the Drug War. Rahtz's conclusion: the Drug War has failed as a policy and that America needs to embrace a different approach. Rahtz is keenly aware of the entrenched views that have guided our drug policy since 1969 and that the key to persuading and changing minds is through comprehensive education and a redirection of policy.

Howard Rahtz's M.A. in Rehab Counseling from the University of Cincinnati is coupled with his degree from Northwestern University School of Police Command and the Ohio Police Executive Leadership College. Quite a combination.

As a SWAT Negotiations Team Coordinator for the Cincinnati Police Department, Rahtz was responsible for the selection, training and deployment of SWAT Negotiators and Technicians. He coordinated with the Tactical Team for successful resolution of hostage and barricade situations for many years. Later, during Rahtz's tenure as Captain of the CPD's Central Vice Control Section, he implemented major reorganization to increase efficiencies in vice enforcement, which led to increased seizures of drugs, money and assets from traffickers. Rahtz also shifted the focus of drug enforcement from arrests to longer-term strategic efforts.

Prior to his LE career, Rahtz gained invaluable insight into the drug problem as a supervisor for a city run methadone program. "The people I supervised were recovering addictsI learned a tremendous amount about addiction and its impact on people's lives." His experiences grew further, as Executive Director of the Alcoholism Council where he worked to establish treatment, intervention and prevention programs in the Cincinnati community. He was instrumental in starting the first local family intervention program and spearheaded the first agency to address the needs of children of addicted parents.

Rahtz was a police officer when the Crack epidemic hit Cincinnati and as the concern for drugs overtook the priorities of the police department. Rahtz could see that the successes in seizures didn't make a dent in the drug trade.

Rahtz sees three tenants to the drug war that demand a change in policy. First, Effectiveness: The Drug War is clearly not fulfilling any of its goals to reduce drug use or keep us safe. Second, the Cost: In the midst of this economic crisis, we can't continue to throw more money down the drug war sewer. And third: Basic Fairness: How do we explain to people we are locking you up for the same behavior Presidents, Governors, and Supreme Court Justices have participated in?

Howard Rahtz believes a new approach is needed and hopes an Obama Presidency will show some leadership on this issue. "The prohibition approach has filled our jails, criminalized millions of our citizens, provided a financial windfall for international and local criminal groups and somehow we never tire of pretending it is working. I want to work with LEAP to change that."

Howard Rahtz, is the author of Community Policing: A Handbook for Beatcops & Supervisors and Understanding Police Use of Force and teaches at two Ohio police academies. Raised in Cincinnati, Rahtz is confident that LEAP can make a significant difference in the Queen City.