RAMP – Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition

There has been a lot of news about CPAC. One item of note left out of the reports is an organization called RAMP. Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition which had a booth at CPAC. Here is how they describe themselves.

We are Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition (RAMP), a nonprofit organization and political caucus within the GOP that recognizes prohibition of marijuana to be a failed policy that undermines our liberties. We believe in the conservative principles of limited government, personal responsibility, economic opportunity, and fiscal responsibility.

Here is what Howard Wooldridge a Retired Police Detective and co-funder of LEAP and head of Citizens Opposing Prohibition had to say in his newsletter about RAMP and CPAC.

After back to back fotos & captions in the New York Times and the Washington Post, plus another bunch of stories, mentions and fotos in major media, this CPAC was a thundering success for the legalization message. The report on Gary Johnson debating legalization used my foto talking to two uniformed officers, instead of the former two term governor of New Mexico, etc, etc.

Silly me. I was thinking of a new message for next year’s CPAC t-shirt.
!Not!

Special moments at CPAC: Active duty Army Sgt made a beeline to me and thanked me for the shirt/activism. Due to Iraq combat, he suffers PTSD and knows how much God’s meds work.

Last hour of last day the police Lieutenant and Sgt who were supervising the 20 or so deputies at the conference asked me why. We had a super 20 M(minute) chat in the main hallway. The Lt. had been on the scene, when Neill Franklin’s best friend was shot dead on a dope arrestl gone bad.

The near constant expressions of thanks from the young, “Go LEAP” type shouts, hand signals, “can I get a foto with you?” etc….all made this a wild, wonderful & exhausting 3 ½ days.

COPs Mission: The primary goal of COP is to repeal the federal prohibition of drugs (starting with marijuana). A lesser mission is to further, in the macro, the end of prohibition in all 50 states. To that end, COP partnered at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) with LEAP and a new org RAMP (Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition). COP provided half of the $4,000 fee for a booth.

LEAP donated their booth display and materials. RAMP and LEAP provided the people to talk to attendees at the booth. I was in reserve for lunches and such. This level of collaboration is what keeps reform going forward and ever closer to fulfilling our mission statements. Next week I will partner with LEAP at the United Nations in Vienna, Austria. Your $$ support makes such projects possible. Thank you.

Speaking of all 50 States. How about Texas?

The recent Texas Tribune/UT poll also showed strong support for pot-law reform among conservatives.

Overall, 24 percent of respondents said pot “should not be legal under any circumstances.” The other 76 percent backed medical marijuana, legalized marijuana for any purpose in small amounts, or legalized marijuana for any purpose in any amount.

As usual the people making the laws are behind.

Consider the bedrock of the state GOP: the suburban lawmaker. I did a roundup of their responses to a DMN voters guide questionnaire last year. With the exception of Rep. Tan Parker of Flower Mound, incumbent Republicans were decidedly status quo on Texas drug laws. I expect those views to prevail in this year’s lawmaking session. And that’s too bad, since it’s such a grotesque waste of time, money and jail space to put people in the system for a small bag of weed.

The war on drugs has been discredited in so many ways, on so many fronts that I don’t know what more it will take to have politicians surrender and look for something that makes more sense.

Actually, I know the answer to that question: It’ll take more time and a bunch more older people (my demographic) dying off. Support for marijuana reform skews younger, and the Texas GOP will have to get on board or risk losing a chunk of this demographic.

They are dying at the rate of a million a year. A few more years and they will be a spent force.

And here is an interesting quote in the New York Times.

“Prohibition is a nanny state, liberal idea that the government should protect you from your own stupidity,” said Howard Wooldridge, a former police detective and a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. “For conservatives, this should be their bread and butter. If these people would apply their conservative principles to the issue, they would all be on my side.”

Send Howard some money: Citizens Opposing Prohibition.


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

One response to “RAMP – Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition”

  1. Randy Avatar
    Randy

    But, but, but…. Big Marijuana…. crack, er, pot babies…. black men sleeping with white women…. cats and dogs living together… mass hysteria!