Pubdate: Wed, 16 Dec 2009
Source: Durango Herald, The (CO)
Copyright: 2009 The Durango Herald
Contact: http://durangoherald.com/write_the_editor/
Website: http://durangoherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/866

STUDENTS HAVE POINT ABOUT POT

More than 40 years since Woodstock, Colorado is  still having trouble
figuring out what to do about  marijuana. As that unfolds, some Fort
Lewis College  students are asking that as an infraction of school
rules, pot users be treated the same as those caught  violating the
college's policy on alcohol.

It seems like a reasonable request. There is no reason  college policy
should arbitrarily deem one more serious  than the other.

That is especially true in that government cannot  decide how to deal
with pot. Colorado voters approved a  ballot measure in 2000 that
legalized medical  marijuana. That went no-where for years because the
  Bush administration rigidly enforced federal laws that  make no such
exception.

Now, though, the Obama administration has said it would  not prosecute
people involved with medical marijuana,  and dispensaries have
sprouted everywhere state law  allows - including Colorado. That has
left both state  and local governments scrambling to enact reasonable
regulations that respect the voter-approved medical  marijuana
exception and the long-held fear that  legalizing pot would encourage
increased drug abuse.

FLC mirrors that confusion. The college says all  infractions are
handled on a case-by-case basis and  that marijuana violations are not
necessarily treated  more severely.

But the Student Conduct Code says drug use or  possession will be met
with "substantial disciplinary  action," which could include
suspension from school.  Violating the alcohol policy also could lead
to  suspension, but the same code also specifically lists  several
possible lesser penalties in its section about  alcohol. There is no
mention of those in regard to  marijuana and anecdotal accounts
suggest students have  been suspended for pot use.

The argument that the two should be treated differently  because
marijuana is illegal does not hold water. Few  students living on
campus are older than 21, and a  minor possessing alcohol is as
illegal as having a  small quantity of pot.

The nation remains confused and conflicted about  marijuana, and FLC
is no different. But that should not  be reflected in the treatment of
an underclassmen  guilty of what is little more than an error in
judgment. The college has a right and a responsibility  to maintain
order, safety and propriety on campus. But  it also has an obligation
to do it fairly. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D