Background
Dirk was born on June 30, 1932, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Dirk grew up in Glendale, California, United States. He had two sisters and two brothers.
1440 E Broadway, Glendale, CA 91205, USA
Dirk Eldredge graduated from Glendale High School.
Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
Dirk Eldredge received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California in 1956.
Dirk was born on June 30, 1932, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Dirk grew up in Glendale, California, United States. He had two sisters and two brothers.
Upon graduation from Glendale High School, Dirk spent two years in the Air Force 80th Air Depot Wing. Following his service, he returned to Los Angeles. He received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California in 1956.
Dirk had military service in U.S. Air Force for two years, after which continued to study. Later, he began as a marketing manager at IBM in Los Angeles and Portland in 1957. From 1971 he was the president/owner of National Office Supply and the president of Condo Resorts International. For two years he served in a position of co-chairman of Ronald Reagan’s campaign for governor of California.
He began to write late in his life. In his book Ending the War on Drugs, Eldredge delivers an attack on America’s controlled-substances policy. His next work was Ending the War on Drugs. Despite its controversial recommendations, Ending the War on Drugs has been generally well-received. A writer for Kirkus Reviews called it “(a) good summary of and introduction to a libertarian perspective on drags, freedom, and the role of the state,” while the Hon. John L. Kane, Jr., writing in the Denver Post, noted that the book “will appeal to the business-oriented reader; it is long on facts and short on preaching. It is pragmatic rather than theoretical. It contains enough anecdotal information to keep the pages turning and still covers issues as diverse as domestic and international politics, law enforcement, race relations, public health, ethics, penology, and economics... It is not for the reader who wants bland assurances and handholding, but for those who demand a pungent description of the most troubling crisis of our time.”
He passed away peacefully at home on November 7, 2016.
Pointing to the lessons of the Prohibition era, Eldredge argues that drugs should be decriminalized and distributed through state-owned outlets like the ones some states use to regulate the sale of alcohol. In this way drugs could be sold at well below their current street value, eliminating the black market and with it the violence and gang activity associated with drug dealing. At the same time, profits could be directed toward education and treatment programs.
Quotations: ''My primary motivation in writing is a desire to serve my country and its people. Politics has always been exciting and interesting to me, but I have never had the courage and resources to seek public office. Writing with the objective of bringing common sense and focus to public policy affords me an opportunity to fill this void in my life. Research is the keystone of the writing process for me. I love the excitement of the search for facts and ideas. I liken it to panning for gold. You sift through much sand and silt until you come across that nugget of information or that glistening idea which enriches your work.''
Dirk was a member of the Round Table of Los Angeles, Drug Policy Foundation.
Dirk was a loving husband, father and brother. He was a good and principled man of strong character and integrity. He was a fighter, a mentor, and a teacher at his core; a true gentleman with a love of the sea and for all that life had to offer.
Dirk believed in and lived Ronald Reagan's quote: "There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect."
On August 14, 1954, Dirk Chase Eldredge married Donna M. Beavers. They have two children, Kim D. Gibier and Dirk C. Eldredge II. He also had eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren.