Time to redress the harm done to thousands of Black youth who have life-limiting criminal records because of pot The war on drugs has had a devastating and disproportionate effect on racialized groups, particularly young Black men. While research has shown that Black people partake in recreational pot at the same rates as their white counterparts, it's Black people who have endured the heavy hand of justice. Black people are twice as likely to be taken to a police station after being charged for simple possession of marijuana. They are also twice as likely to be held overnight for a bail hearing. [continues 917 words]
California is doubling down on decriminalization. Three weeks ago, the passage of Prop. 47 converted a half-dozen felonies to misdemeanors. In 2011, marijuana possession was reclassified from a misdemeanor to an infraction without jail time. If Rip Van Winkle fell asleep a decade ago at the height of California's prison boom and woke up this morning, he'd quickly recognize this as a scramble to undo decades of harsh and expensive policy. The state is not alone - we are seeing a seismic shift in how the United States handles punishment, especially with respect to misdemeanor decriminalization. Marijuana is the most famous example, but many states are eliminating jail time for other minor offenses, such as driving violations and public order crimes, and replacing them with so-called "nonjailable misdemeanors," "nonarrestable" or "fine-only" offenses, and "civil infractions." [continues 1063 words]
Reports on Drivers, Training by Firm Fueled Law Enforcement Aggressiveness During the rush to improve homeland security a decade ago, an invitation went out from Congress to a newly retired California highway patrolman named Joe David. A lawmaker asked him to brief the Senate on how highway police could keep "our communities safe from terrorists and drug dealers." David had developed an uncanny talent for finding cocaine and cash in cars and trucks, beginning along the remote highways of the Mojave Desert. His reputation had spread among police officers after he started a training firm in 1989 to teach his homegrown stop-and-seizure techniques. He called it Desert Snow. [continues 5027 words]
JOHN SPERLING, 1921-2014 John G. Sperling, a poor boy from the Missouri Ozarks who survived a cruel childhood to become a college professor and a billionaire with an idea for a university that launched a revolution in higher education, has died. He was 93. Sperling, the self-described "unintentional entrepreneur" who founded the for-profit behemoth University of Phoenix, died Friday of complications following an infection at Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, Calif., said former University of Phoenix President Jorge Klor de Alva. Sperling had homes in the Bay Area and Arizona. [continues 1124 words]
Re: "Crack down on drug users," by Sue Biesel, Saturday Letters. Biesel is entitled to her opinion, but it's always nice when opinion bears at least a nodding relation to facts. Here are a few with regard to our treatment of drug users. It wasn't all that long ago that we did not send people to prison just for using drugs. Now, the United States has some 2.5 million of its citizens in prison - more than any other country in the world (even the ones we consider bad guys, like China and Iran). One out of every 100 adults in the U.S. is in prison. About 80 percent are in prison for nonviolent offenses, chiefly drug offenses. Punish them we already do, Ms. Biesel, but it does not stop there. [continues 62 words]
Pot's Tipping Point. The public debate over marijuana has finally reached the highest levels in our government. President Obama, in an interview that ran in The New Yorker, said that while he believed marijuana use is a "bad habit and a vice," he doesn't "think it is more dangerous than alcohol." That was certainly a shot over the bow against the War on Drugs; hopefully it moves us closer to sensible policies about marijuana. "We were absolutely delighted that he finally came out with a positive statement, an accurate statement," says Heidi Parikh, director of Michigan Compassion, a federal nonprofit focused on education about medical marijuana. "We hope he moves forward in the direction, that he'll reschedule it before the end of his term." [continues 1124 words]
A grandmother, a Ph.D., and a multimillionaire are among the people scrambling to get business in order as the I-502 starting gate finally opens. For people who want to start a legal marijuana business, if it's not now or never, it's something close to it. On Monday, Nov. 18, the state Liquor Control Board will open a 30-day window for applicants seeking a license to produce, process, or sell marijuana. Some time later-the board hasn't announced exactly when-it will begin to accredit marijuana testing laboratories. [continues 5188 words]
Is It Time to Reconsider the Militarization of American Policing? On Jan. 4 of last year, a local narcotics strike force conducted a raid on the Ogden, Utah, home of Matthew David Stewart at 8:40 p.m. The 12 officers were acting on a tip from Mr. Stewart's former girlfriend, who said that he was growing marijuana in his basement. Mr. Stewart awoke, naked, to the sound of a battering ram taking down his door. Thinking that he was being invaded by criminals, as he later claimed, he grabbed his 9-millimeter Beretta pistol. [continues 2106 words]
Normally, I'm not much for conspiracy theories. But you don't have to wear a tin-foil hat to connect the dots implicit in the New York Civil Liberties Union report showing that blacks are disproportionately arrested for having marijuana, even though more whites use the drug. Alarmed by New York City's "stop and frisk" program that targets high crime read "black" neighborhoods, the NYCLU looked at federal crime data for 2010 across the state and found blacks 4.5 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession. [continues 474 words]
NEW YORK - Danielle Bradford was raised in state custody because of her parent's abuse and drug dependencies. When she was 18 she moved out, found work at a local waffle shop and got her first apartment in Nashville, Tenn. Her estranged father helped by co-signing on the lease. One evening she was at home with her neighbors when three police officers knocked on the door. They said they had received a report that there was a portable meth lab on her property. "I allowed them to look, and obviously they did not find anything," she said. What the police did find was that her neighbor had some marijuana and a bowl that she had prepared for him. [continues 4844 words]
People Will Give You a Lot of Reasons to Vote to Legalize Pot on November 6, but You're Not Going to Hear Much About the One That Matters Most I grew up near the edge of the Central District, and our house was at the top of a ridge, which served as a sort of racial dividing line. Houses on the eastern slope had spectacular views of the mountains and Lake Washington. They were expensive and their residents were all white. I can't recall a single black person who lived on that side of the hill. On the other side of the ridge, the houses' territorial views looked back into the gulch. With only scattered exceptions, those were all African American households. [continues 4294 words]
With a new school year comes Welcome Week. With Welcome Week come parties. And with parties, more often than not, comes pot. To get a sense of what this time of year means for all those illegal dealers out there, City Pulse sat down with two of them who used to do it. We will call them Joe, who is 26, and Garth, who is 23. Both recently graduated from MSU and both have also gotten out of the pot-dealing game. And both agree that when the students come back, so does business. [continues 558 words]
I was disappointed to read recently that legislation to decriminalize marijuana was "stalled" in the House. Legalization and regulation of marijuana would be the most reasonable approach to this public policy issue, but decriminalization would have been a step in the right direction. The proposed legislation was well thought out and would have encouraged youthful offenders (under 21 years old) in the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana to choose an educational / community service piece, offered in every county through court diversion, in lieu of a fine. Repeat youthful offenders would face increasing fines and possibly the loss of their driver's license for a specified period of time. A person 21 years of age or older would simply face a fine, which would increase for repeat civil offenses. [continues 166 words]
Conservatives in the Arizona Legislature Want Guns Galore on Campus-but Not a Whiff of Weed Sometimes, a parallel universe just smacks you upside the head. One such moment occurred recently, when the Arizona Legislature birthed a pair of bills that would-conversely-allow gun fanatics to pack heat on campus, and ensure that sick students can't toke medical marijuana. One bill has the support of college muckety-mucks; the other most definitely does not. But in this alternate reality called Arizona, neither measure is much of a surprise. [continues 998 words]
PHOENIX -- A House panel voted Wednesday to ban medical marijuana use and possession on college and university campuses, setting the stage for a lawsuit. The unanimous vote by members of the House Committee on Higher Education came after Rep. Amanda Reeve, R-Phoenix, said the schools fear loss of both direct federal aid and federally backed student loans if they allow faculty and students to possess the drug. That was backed by Kristen Boilini who lobbies for several community colleges. She said the law will reinforce policies the schools already have in place. [continues 393 words]
PHOENIX - A House panel voted Wednesday to ban medical marijuana use and possession on college and university campuses, setting the stage for a lawsuit. The unanimous vote by members of the House Committee on Higher Education came after Rep. Amanda Reeve, R-Phoenix, said the schools fear loss of both direct federal aid and federally backed student loans if they allow faculty and students to possess the drug. That was backed by Kristen Boilini who lobbies for several community colleges. She said the law will reinforce policies the schools already have in place. [continues 352 words]
California pot smokers can breathe a little easier next year. Under a state law that takes effect Jan. 1, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana will be an infraction punishable by a $100 fine. Today it is a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine. The new law does not go as far as Proposition 19, which voters rejected Tuesday. That would have legalized possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana for personal use by anyone 21 or older in California. [continues 970 words]
"As Parents, We Know That Education Is Often More Effective Than Punishment, and in Some Cases Punishment Is Not Effective at All." My son just started kindergarten. So naturally, I have been thinking a lot about the type of world and community in which I want him and our seven-year-old daughter to live. I am involved in a project to improve school lunches in our district to reinforce the nutrition lessons we teach in our home. I am a founding board member of a community group trying to improve our city's parks. [continues 765 words]
Prohibition has failed -- again. Drug prohibition has proven remarkably ineffective, costly and counter-productive. 500,000 people are behind bars today for violating a drug law - and hundreds of thousands more are incarcerated for other prohibition-related violations. There is a smarter approach usually called harm reduction. Reducing the number of people who use drugs is not nearly as important as reducing the death, disease, crime, and suffering associated with both drug misuse and failed policies of prohibition. Ethan Nadelmann is the founder and executive director of the DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE, the leading organizations in the United States promoting alternatives to the war on drugs, grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. He received his BA, JD, and PhD from Harvard, and a Master's degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. He authored COPS ACROSS BORDERS and co-authored POLICING THE GLOBE: Criminalization and Crime Control in International Relations. [continues 5301 words]
Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse website. The average American teenager or young adult will experiment with marijuana sometime in high school or college. Ambitious students may altogether shun socially stigmatized hallucinogenic drugs, but many of us hold less lofty personal standards, especially as adolescents. Conviction for possession of marijuana will strip even a 4.0 undergraduate of his student loans for one year. Repeat offenders fare worse: A second offense will suspend one's student loans for two years, and after three strikes ... well, you know the saying. Third-time offenders will be indefinitely barred from obtaining student loans, as mandated by the Drug Provision of the Higher Education Act. [continues 528 words]
While sex was the headlined hypocrisy behind U.S. Rep. Mark Souder's resignation, the pietistic politician's sanctimony didn't stop there. Most of them wouldn't know Souder from Torquemada, but more than 200,000 Americans have taken a hit to their college educations thanks to his vigilance for virtue. Souder is the Moses of legislation denying federal financial aid to students convicted of a drug offense. No other crimes. Just drugs. Say your prayers every day, call Mom every night, get busted for pot and that big tuition bill is all on you. [continues 405 words]
With a convicted bank robber and a former methamphetamine user in charge, John Muir Charter School on Treasure Island is not your typical public school. But the typical public school experience didn't work for the 105 students at John Muir. Among them are former robbers and thieves. Some are teenage parents. All were academic failures elsewhere and, at one point or another, on the state's long list of high school dropouts. Each one wants another chance. This school gives them that as well as health care, bus passes, individual support, construction job training, and a capitalistic reason to show up: a paycheck. [continues 1062 words]
About 10 Student for Sensible Drug Policy members gathered in the student union on Monday evening to discuss the war on drugs and their success in helping thousands of students with marijuana convictions obtain financial aid. Students for Sensible Drug Policy is an international grass-roots network of students who are concerned about the impact drug abuse has on our communities, according to its site's mission statement - it has been active on SJSU's campus since Spring '09. The group's goal is to spread awareness on the failed drug policies in the U.S., and to help students and minorities, who are affected by drug policies, said Alexander Woon, founder of the SJSU chapter. [continues 542 words]
WASHINGTON - Students will turn to Uncle Sam, not private lenders, for loans to pay for their college educations, the House voted Thursday. The legislation is a blow to major banks and student loan giant Sallie Mae, which will be cut out of a large part of the $92 billion business. The bill also eases restrictions on students who are convicted of drug possession, erasing a 10-year-old provision authored by Rep. Mark Souder, R-3rd, that limits their access to federally guaranteed student loans. [continues 495 words]
Why the Unlikeliest of States--Ours--Should Legalize Marijuana. In the early years of the twentieth century, as they poured across the border into Texas, Mexican immigrants brought with them a familiar and cheap intoxicant: cannabis, which they called marihuana (in those days, it was spelled with an h instead of a j). Perhaps because they were young, predominantly male, and away from home--strong correlates of troublesome behavior--they were seen as lacking appropriate inhibition, especially when they came to town on weekends. Cerveza may have been more culpable, but cannabis made an easier target. In 1914, after a melee allegedly involving a marijuana smoker, the El Paso city government passed what is believed to have been the first law banning a drug that had been legally and widely used for at least five thousand years. Other cities and states quickly followed suit. Before long, marijuana was forbidden everywhere, and its use was often harshly punished. [continues 5696 words]
Student Tied To Suspect Barred From Graduating CAMBRIDGE - A plot to rob a marijuana dealer inside a Harvard residence hall Monday went badly awry and ended with the shooting death of a 21-year-old Cambridge man, authorities said yesterday, as details began to emerge about two female Harvard students who knew both the victim and his alleged assailants. Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said the botched "drug rip" that cost the life of the suspected dealer, [name redacted], centered on a pound of marijuana and $1,000 in cash that [name redacted] Copney of New York and two others allegedly came to Cambridge to steal. [continues 1137 words]
The Candidate Talks About the Youth Vote, What's On His Ipod and His Top Three Priorities As President Shortly after Barack Obama claimed victory in the fight for the Democratic nomination, I joined him aboard his chartered 757 campaign plane as a member of the press corps. He was flying from Chicago to Appleton, Wisconsin, for a town-hall meeting, one of a series he was doing in Midwestern and swing states to address constituencies he might have missed during the primaries - and, of course, to get some warm-up practice for any town-hall debates he has with John McCain. [continues 4386 words]
Massachusetts voters can Just Say No to bad drug policy. I call Dick Evans to interview him. But he has his own question-or, more specifically, an assignment-for me: "I challenge you to find anyone who believes adults who choose to use marijuana responsibly deserve to be arrested, prosecuted and locked up." Evans is pretty sure I'll come up empty; he's even willing to bet a lunch on it. A Northampton attorney and former member of the Board of Directors of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, Evans spent decades advocating for the reform of drug laws, and while officially "retired" from the cause, he still tracks it closely. [continues 3737 words]
Ten years ago, without debate or even a proper vote, Congressman Mark Souder, an Indiana Republican and Christian fundamentalist fanatic, slipped the Aid Elimination Penalty (also known as the Drug-Free Student Loan Amendment) into the 1998 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. As a result of this little-known provision, the Department of Education blocks access to federal financial aid for students with drug convictions. Since then, this stipulation has denied roughly 200,000 applicants financial aid because of prior drug convictions, according to Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit advocacy organization. These convictions are generally for nonviolent possession charges and mostly for marijuana. [continues 496 words]
Now that we've settled the casino thing, anybody for a joint? Marijuana decriminalization is the next hot-button social issue moving through the state Legislature. But unlike casino gambling, marijuana reform can't be stopped by House Speaker Sal DiMasi. If the Legislature doesn't enact it, voters will see it on the November ballot. The initiative is simple. Possession of marijuana is now a criminal offense, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500. A single joint can get you a criminal record, a CORI file that can keep you from getting housing or a job and that makes you ineligible for a student loan. [continues 897 words]
The war on drugs is prejudiced against minorities, a group of Drake University students and professors concluded Wednesday. "America's war on drugs has really turned into American's war on nonwhite youth," said Eric Johnson, an education professor at Drake. Johnson, three other Drake professors and a representative of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition formed the panel Wednesday evening on the Drake campus at a discussion hosted by Drake Students for Sensible Drug Policy. The group of about 50 students who attended tried to brainstorm a better drug policy, one that doesn't unfairly affect minorities and college-bound students, they said. [continues 230 words]
AS HE TROOPS about Europe, with notebook and camera crew, guidebook author Rick Steves witnesses what the late historian Barbara Tuchman called "The March of Folly," the sites of wars and witch hunts waged by feckless rulers. Steves has come home with a mind to take on our leaders' folly, the federal government's enduring, woefully unsuccessful War on Drugs, and the battle front against marijuana. He would replace a strategy of locking people up with a policy designed to lessen harm. It's a lot like the "Four Pillars" approach to drug use adopted by Vancouver, B.C.: treatment, harm reduction, prevention and -- for profiteers of the business -- enforcement. [continues 777 words]
Since the passage of the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, drug enforcement policies have been a top priority for the federal government. The Nixon and Reagan years marked the beginning of the controversial war on drugs, arguably the most costly and narrow-minded piece of domestic policy to date. According to the Drug Policy Alliance Web site, the United States spent an estimated $40 billion financing drug enforcement legislation in the year 2000, with $18 billion being allocated to the National Drug Control budget and upwards of $20 billion being spent on the state level. The Drug Policy Alliances estimates that this amount will continue to increase annually in stark contrast to the budget allocated toward funding of other domestic programs, such as federal student loans for higher education. [continues 742 words]
The debate over marijuana is a cloudy one. It's an illegal drug ... used by presidents. Heads get high ... cancer patients get hungry. Most pot smokers don't try heroin ... most heroin addicts tried pot first. One thing's for certain: This debate is coming to a water cooler near you. The people behind the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, a Boston-based advocacy group, have cleared the first hurdle to reduce the state's penalty for minor pot possession from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction. [continues 2084 words]
Dear Editor, Thank you for raising awareness of the Higher Education Act's denial of student loans to youth convicted of drug offenses. Instead of empowering at risk students with a college degree, HEA limits career opportunities and increases the likelihood that those affected will resort back to crime. Speaking of crime, convicted rapists and murders are still eligible for federal student loans. Most students outgrow their youthful indiscretions involving illicit drugs. An arrest and criminal record, on the other hand, can be life-shattering. [continues 152 words]
Not being able to afford college is not a new problem, as many people need to take out student loans and work while attending college. Financial aid can be a big help in paying for college expenses. Yet a provision in the Higher Education Act denies federal aid to convicted drug offenders, which an applicant must disclose when filling out question 35 on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Nearly 200,000 students have been denied financial aid since the law was enacted, according to a report from Students for Sensible Drug Policy Web site. [continues 494 words]
Matthew Adair is to be commended for raising awareness of the Higher Education Act's denial of student loans to youth convicted of drug offenses ["Say 'No' to Cutting Student Aid," Oct. 18]. Instead of empowering at-risk students with a college degree, HEA limits career opportunities and increases the likelihood that those affected will resort to crime. Speaking of crime, convicted rapists and murders are still eligible for federal student loans. Most students outgrow their youthful indiscretions involving illicit drugs. An arrest and criminal record, on the other hand, can be life-shattering. After admitting to smoking pot (but not inhaling), former President Bill Clinton opened himself up to "soft on drugs" criticism. And thousands of Americans have paid the price in the form of shattered lives. More Americans went to prison or jail during the Clinton administration than during any past administration. [continues 101 words]
We're told a great number of things are important as we're growing up: a good work ethic, the ability to listen and a strong sense of proper hygiene, for instance. Topping the list, though, is honesty. Without honesty, we're told, we can't have anything else. Families, businesses, even countries are unable to function if we cannot depend on knowing that we are speaking the truth to one another. With that said, we should be appalled to know that our government is lying to us, the students of this university, as well as schools across the country. It isn't even that we are being lied to, but that, by lying to us and spreading misinformation, thousands of students are being denied access to financial aid to help pay for a college education. [continues 616 words]
Students With a Marijuana Misdemeanor Have Same Consequences The number of on-campus drug arrests increased from 2006 to 2007, and being convicted of a drug offense while in college can put students' federal financial aid packages in jeopardy. The Wright State Police Department made 12 on-campus drug-related arrests in 2006, according to a crime statistics report published by the University. With two-and-a-half months left in the year, the number of campus drug arrests stands at 14 for 2007, according Wendy Chetcuti, Wright State Police Records Manager. [continues 769 words]
Thank you for raising awareness of the Higher Education Act's denial of student loans to youth convicted of drug offenses. Instead of empowering at-risk students with a college degree, HEA limits career opportunities and increases the likelihood that those affected will resort to crime. Speaking of crime, convicted rapists and murders are still eligible for federal student loans. Most students outgrow their youthful indiscretions involving illicit drugs. An arrest and criminal record, on the other hand, can be life-shattering. [continues 122 words]
National Organization of Reform Marijuana Laws members assembled this past Wednesday to pick up trash on the group's adopted one-mile stretch of Interstate 70. "The main thing, don't pick up animal carcasses, don't touch needles, glass," NORML member sophomore Brandon Jordan said of roadside safety. NORML members carpooled to the north side of I-70 between Clark Lane and Rangeline Street. Members of both NORML and Students for Sensible Drug Policy headed to the littered grass with gloves and garbage bags in hand. [continues 249 words]
Organization Is a Reincarnation of a Defunct Group Like many University students, LSA sophomore Chris Chiles says drugs should be decriminalized. Unlike many University students, he's decided to do something about it. This year, Chiles decided to re-form the University's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a national group that pushes for the liberalization of drug laws. It was formed in 1998, but its presence on campus had deteriorated. The University chapter had about 20 members at the beginning of the school year and now has several dozen more students that are considering membership in the group, said Chiles, the group's executive director. [continues 386 words]
Take one swift glance at a U.S. map coded to reflect the widely varying marijuana laws in each state, and drug policy seems to range from irrational to incoherent. But dig into the details of public opinion, user behavior and police enforcement, and a more lucid picture of American attitudes comes into focus: People have learned to live with pot, up to a fine point. As Denver ponders yet another ballot measure on marijuana Nov. 6 - to make pursuit of small amounts of pot the "lowest law-enforcement priority" - many communities may already have reached a complicated compromise that reflects the wisdom of research and the consistency of survey results. [continues 1148 words]
Whipping westward across Manhattan in a limousine sent by Comedy Central's "Daily Show," Ron Paul, the 10-term Texas congressman and long-shot Republican presidential candidate, is being briefed. Paul has only the most tenuous familiarity with Comedy Central. He has never heard of "The Daily Show." His press secretary, Jesse Benton, is trying to explain who its host, Jon Stewart, is. "He's an affable gentleman," Benton says, "and he's very smart. What I'm getting from the pre-interview is, he's sympathetic." [continues 5088 words]
Eligibility for federal student assistance is suspended for students convicted of a drug crime while receiving aid. A bill recently passed by a Senate committee may bring relief to financially dependent students who can no longer receive federal aid due to drug convictions. The amendment to the Higher Education Act, which suspended eligibility for federal student assistance of any student who is convicted of a drug crime, was authored in 1998 by Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., but was changed last year to only affect students who committed offenses while receiving aid. [continues 340 words]
Where 420 came from and how people in the Palouse spending April 20. It's pronounced "four-twenty." Not "four-two-zero," or "four-hundred twenty." The three-digit number isn't an area code or password. It represents a holiday that surpasses time zones for marijuana users all over the world. Spencer*, a freshman agribusiness major, first celebrated 420 when he was 16 -- his sophomore year of high school. He said that ever since, it's been one of his favorite days. [continues 1000 words]
N.C. State's Student Senate is to be commended for opposing the Higher Education Act's denial of student loans to youth convicted of drug offenses. Instead of empowering at-risk students with a college degree, HEA limits career opportunities and increases the likelihood that those affected will resort to crime. Speaking of crime, convicted rapists and murderers are still eligible for federal student loans. Most students outgrow their youthful indiscretions involving illicit drugs. An arrest and criminal record, on the other hand, can be life-shattering. After admitting to smoking pot (but not inhaling), former President Bill Clinton opened himself up to "soft on drugs" criticism. And thousands of Americans have paid the price in the form of shattered lives. More Americans went to prison or jail during the Clinton administration than during any past administration. [continues 101 words]
Convicted drug dealers should not be eligible to receive student financial aid from the state, according to state Rep. Eugene Hahn, R-Cambria, who sponsored a bill being considered by the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities this week. The bill, which mirrors a federal law on federal aid, would prevent a college student convicted of possessing drugs with the intent to sell ineligible for state, loan or work assistance. The restriction would be lifted after a two-year suspension or if the student completes a drug rehabilitation program. [continues 370 words]
Columbia Seen by Other National Lobbying Groups As a Good Example for Other Cities Working on Marijuana Legislation. Arrest records show no significant change in the number of arrests for possession of marijuana since the Columbia City Council reduced the penalty for possession of less than 35 grams of the drug. But groups lobbying for change in marijuana law still promote the city as an example for similar legislation elsewhere. Columbia has maintained its status as a hotbed for debate about appropriate penalties for marijuana use since the city's adoption of Proposition 2, a city ordinance that directs misdemeanor possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana charges to municipal court rather than prosecuting them as a felony. [continues 1419 words]
NCSU Student Who Sponsored Drug Penalty Opposition Matthew Potter is a junior in political science and a student senator at N.C. State University. He is also president of the NCSU chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Last week, the NCSU student senate passed a resolution Potter introduced that calls on North Carolina's congressional delegation to amend the Higher Education Act. Tell me about this bill. It calls upon Congress to repeal the drug penalty from the Higher Education Act. The Higher Education Act regulates all federal funding for education, such as work study programs, loans and grants. The drug penalty was introduced in 1998, and it basically says that anyone who has any drug conviction becomes ineligible for federal financial aid, at least for a certain period of time. [continues 527 words]
