Pubdate: Sun, 28 Dec 2003 Source: Boston Globe (MA) Copyright: 2003 Globe Newspaper Company Contact: http://www.boston.com/globe/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52 Author: Marcella Bombardieri and Jenna Russell Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) BUT DID HE INHALE? It's not easy having a famous dad. After Harvard student Albert Gore III -- yes, son of that Albert Gore -- made the news last week for being arrested in Maryland for marijuana possession, activists made him a poster boy for their campaign against a 1998 law that denies financial aid to any student with a drug conviction. The law has deprived more than 124,000 students of financial aid, according to Students for Sensible Drug Policy, which bills itself as the fastest-growing student organization in the United States. No other crime triggers the same punishment. "If Al Gore's son was paying for school with financial aid, a conviction for marijuana possession could end his education and seriously damage his future," said SSDP national director Darrell Rogers in a statement. "Since his parents can afford to pay for his education, Albert Gore III's Harvard education will continue uninterrupted." Gore, 21, and two passengers were arrested Dec. 19 when he was stopped for driving without his lights on. An officer, who noticed the windows and sunroof open in cold weather, found a marijuana cigarette and a cigarette box containing suspected marijuana. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager