President-elect Obama's potential drug czar pick has stirred protest from numerous groups:
A coalition of advocacy and nonprofit organizations, including the National Black Police Association, sent a letter today to President-elect Obama preemptively pushing back against the nomination of Rep. James Ramstad (R-Minn.) to be head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, or "Drug Czar."
Ramstad has not been nominated for the position, but his name has been mentioned in Democratic circles and he has expressed gratification at the prospect of his consideration.
"While we applaud Representative Ramstad for his courageous and steady support for expanding drug treatment access and improving addiction awareness, and honor his own personal and very public triumph over addiction, we have strong reservations about his candidacy for the drug czar position," reads the letter. ...
In his twenty-eight years in the U.S. House, Representative Ramstad has consistently opposed policies that seek to reduce drug-related harm and create common ground on polarizing issues.
Huffington Post blogger Maia Szalavitz, a former drug user herself, blogged recently about Ramstad's opposition to needle exchanges and medical marijuana.