YOUTH AFFAIRS Minister Willie O'Dea ought to study the situation in the US before suggesting shoot-from-the-hip solutions. The incarceration rate and drug use by children are both disgracefully high. In fact, looking at the severity of drug prohibition versus the level of youth drug abuse across a spectrum of nations, we can see that the two are directly, not inversely, related. The same thing happened in the US during alcohol prohibition in the 1920s: drinking invaded the schools, just as drug prohibition is now causing drugs to be used by children. But the data is there to prove the case. I suggest the Minister read the Drug Policy Libraries website at www.druglibrary.org and change his tune, for the good of the children if not for his own credibility. Peter Webster, International Journal of Drug Policy, Le Sienne, 37, Avenue Mont Joli, 06110 Le Cannet, France. vignes@monaco.mc [end]
Medical marijuana activist Dennis Peron and a handful of supporters staged a 45-minute sit-in at the San Francisco office of state assembly member Carole Migden Friday, Feb. 26 to protest Migden's refusal to sponsor a bill that would legally reclassify, or "reschedule," marijuana in California. The bill, which Peron had asked Migden to introduce in the state legislature, would reschedule marijuana automatically once it is rescheduled by the federal government. Marijuana is currently a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it is legally considered to have no medicinal value and to have a high potential for abuse. [continues 202 words]
Juno, Alaska--Alaska's medical marijuana law goes into effect today, offering a legal shield to people who smoke the weed for a short list of medical ailments. Nearly 60 percent of the voters in the November election favored the measure, which allows marijuana use for ailments including cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, chronic pain, seizures and muscle spasms, provided the patient has a doctor's recommendation. The law allows patients to grow limited amounts of marijuana and protects doctors who recommend it. Growing, selling or using marijuana for recreational purposes remains illegal and marijuana is still classified with heroin and LSD under federal law. However, a bill introduced in Congress on Wednesday would set aside the federal ban on marijuana in the states that have approved its use: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Nevada. Although the Alaska law calls for identification cards that medical marijuana users could show to fend off arrest, the Department of Health and Social Services is not yet accepting applications for a registry of qualified patients. Even without a card, the law will provide a defense if people are arrested for using medical marijuana. [continues 161 words]
LAST FALL, Congress passed and President Clinton signed into law the Higher Education Act, a five-year reauthorization of all federal higher education programs, which will expand college affordability and promote academic quality. The part that seems to stick in the craw of some special interest groups is one of the provisions that increases accountability by temporarily suspending federal financial aid for students convicted of drug possession or sales. But these groups are hard-pressed to explain why taxpayers should subsidize the costs of a college education for students who violate the law and impede their own academic success by using and/or selling drugs. [continues 702 words]
ON OCT. 7, President Clinton signed into law the Higher Education Act of 1998, which includes a provision that will deny or delay federal financial aid to any student with a drug conviction, no matter how minor. In response, students across the country are participating in a growing campaign to have the provision overturned. They have good reason to get involved. Whatever Congress' intent, the law's impact will be discriminatory on several levels. First, the law represents an additional penalty, over and above court-imposed sanctions, levied upon lower and middle class students. Wealthier students, the children of legislators for instance, will be virtually unaffected. [continues 672 words]
I am writing this letter in response to Erin Perucci's column "Drug Use Doesn't Deserve Aid," (Feb. 18). Ms. Perucci's unfortunate piece, I'm afraid, is fairly representative of one of the most alarming aspects of contemporary American culture and policy in its attitude toward drug use and punishment. There is little doubt, as anti-drug activists literally point out, that drug abuse is among the most self-destructive behaviors in which individuals can and do engage. Unfortunately, the response most commonly favored by politicians and moralists, namely, the drug war, has proven to be one of the most self-destructive activities in which the polity has itself engaged. I shan't expound in any depth upon the legions of non-violent offenders who crowd our prisons and bestow upon the United States the dubious honor of boasting one of the largest prison populations (per capita) of any industrialized nation. [continues 334 words]
I am writing to express my disgust and disappointment in the ignorant and self-righteous way that The Cavalier Daily pledged its support to the Higher Education Act's provision to bar federal student aid to students convicted of non-violent drug offenses. The argument made in the Feb. 16 lead editorial that "if the government funds a drug user's education, the government is in effect subsidizing the drug use," is hypocritical, based on flawed logic and shows a complete lack of understanding behind the ban. [continues 307 words]
This past week, The Cavalier Daily has run an editorial and a column supporting the Drug-Free Student Loan Amendment. This law takes away student loans from any student who has been caught with any amount of drugs. Marijuana is more widely used than all of the other illegal drugs combined. Therefore, this law will mostly pick on the people who smoke marijuana. This is extremely unfair for several reasons. First, marijuana has been repeatedly shown to be less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco. Credible journals such as The Lancet, Great Britain's leading health publication, and Scientific American have affirmed this. The biggest danger in smoking marijuana is to damage the lungs, which has no effect on a student's ability to learn. [continues 226 words]
THERE goes that pesky government again trying to take away all of our good fun. Or are they? This time around, the government might be sticking its nose in the right place. College students all across the country are feeling the pinch as lawmakers and administrators tighten the reins when it comes to issues like alcohol and drug use. The federal government's attempt in October, though, may be just the roadblock needed to stop financially dependent, irresponsible students right in their tracks. [continues 638 words]
It used to be that only those who could afford a college education received one. Now, more Americans than ever have college degrees, indeed, a college diploma is almost a prerequisite for success in life. Opportunities to receive financial aid have expanded; most people on these Grounds know someone who has a loan or a grant. Financial aid, however, does not grow on trees. Until approved FAFSAs start to bloom on McCormick Road gingkos, or more money is invested in grants and loans, a government-subsidized education will remain a privilege, not a right. [continues 468 words]
Say no to drugs, or the government may take your financial aid away because of a law the Drug Reform Coordination Network is now working to overturn. A provision in the Higher Education Act, signed into law Oct. 7, will terminate eligibility for federal financial aid for at least one year if a student is convicted of possession or sale of a controlled substance. In response, the DRCNet has begun a campaign spreading awareness of the law among college students in hopes of overturning it. [continues 520 words]
