cannabisnews.com: U-Md. Students Vote to Soften Pot Penalties










  U-Md. Students Vote to Soften Pot Penalties

Posted by CN Staff on April 13, 2006 at 23:00:33 PT
By Susan Kinzie, Washington Post Staff Writer 
Source: Washington Post  

Washington, D.C. -- University of Maryland students celebrated student government election results yesterday with a bottle of bubbly -- nonalcoholic, of course -- and a freshman broke into a mellow, Phish sort of victory dance.Not only had they elected new student leaders, but nearly two-thirds of the undergraduates who voted endorsed a referendum to reduce penalties for students caught with marijuana so that they would be treated the same as alcohol violations -- a result with much symbolic weight but no actual power to change the school's policies.
"We are pumped," said senior and campaign activist Damien Nichols yesterday afternoon, wearing a black suit and a "party organically" T-shirt with a pot leaf. "The students have spoken!"Not all the students -- not even 4,500 of the more than 25,000 undergraduates voted on the student government association election ballot question.The university's vice president for student affairs said the administration takes any strong message from student elections very seriously. But she doesn't think the school will be able to treat drug and alcohol violations the same way."You've got to look at these two issues differently," Linda Clement said, because marijuana can bring harder drugs, dealers and crime. "Our campus police believe very strongly that drug activity attracts people to the campus who are dangerous."The vote comes just as the school, which has enjoyed a growing national reputation for its academics in recent years, also is fighting off the bad publicity that postgame student riots have brought. Last week, drunken students celebrated the women's basketball national championship win by setting fires and shaking buses in College Park.U-Md. is the fifth university in the country to pass a referendum like this, part of a year-old campaign to promote marijuana as a safer alternative to alcohol.Steve Fox, executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, cites statistics on all sorts of awful things that happen to enormous numbers of college students as a result of drinking -- deaths, injuries, sexual assaults.The SAFER campaign started at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University after two students died after drinking. This year, two other schools, the University of Texas and Florida State University, passed similar referendums.And none of those schools have changed their policies.Gwendolyn Dungy, executive director of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, laughed when she heard about the vote. She doesn't know of any college in the country that treats drug and alcohol violations the same -- mostly because of the law, she said, because, unlike smoking marijuana, drinking is legal after 21.Many on campus hadn't heard about the ballot question. Some were shocked when they did. "I think it's absolutely ridiculous if you're at college and you're smoking marijuana," freshman Dane Friedman said.He thinks the referendum results could hurt the school's image and the atmosphere on campus if students start thinking they can get away with smoking up all the time. College administrators across the country have been trying for decades to find solutions to the sometimes ridiculous, sometimes annoying, sometimes tragic problems that drinking and drugs bring to campus.Smoke-ins at U-Md. in the 1970s gave way in the 1980s to a much stricter policy, put in place after basketball star Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose. That's when administrators set the rules in place today, which John Zacker of the university's student misconduct office said are more severe than at many other schools.Students caught with drugs at U-Md. face a one-year suspension, depending on the circumstances, and those who live in campus housing almost always are forced to move out, he said.The university does offer some alternatives, including education and ongoing drug testing, rather than suspension, to give students with minor offenses a chance to learn from mistakes.Students are much less likely to get suspended or to lose housing for alcohol violations, Zacker said. Those who do often have other violations along with drinking.The school, with about 35,000 students, has hundreds of liquor violations every year and fewer than 100 drug violations, he said.Nichols and Victor Pinho, a fellow advocate, are part of the generation that grew up with the "war on drugs" and DARE classes. And they see it as a moral issue."The average marijuana user does not have the impetus to stand on a sofa and scream, 'Legalize marijuana!' " said Nichols, a government and politics major from Bowie, who, like Pinho, has a job lined up when he graduates this spring. "It's easier to live their life and do their own thing."Not him. This year he and Pinho, who head the U-Md. chapters of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, "came together, blew it up, made it public, gave it legs."They spent the beginning of this week tooling around campus in a decorated campaign golf cart to get out the vote, offering students rides, hemp bracelets and propaganda.Yesterday, Pinho said this is just the beginning."Next stop," he said, "the White House!"Source: Washington Post (DC)Author: Susan Kinzie, Washington Post Staff WriterPublished: Friday, April 14, 2006; Page B05Copyright: 2006 Washington Post Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Related Articles & Web Sites:SSDPhttp://www.ssdp.org/Safer Choicehttp://www.saferchoice.org/Marijuana Legalization Rally Advocates Freedomhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21717.shtmlSAFER Pushing To Legalize Marijuana Statewidehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21638.shtml

Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help





Comment #7 posted by OverwhelmSam on April 14, 2006 at 14:02:37 PT
DPA, MPP & SAFER
Great job! At least I lived in a time when a few organizations finally rivaled the power of the federal government.The police should enfocrce the law, not influence which laws the people should dictate.I believe the people have more power than the few power mongers.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by FoM on April 14, 2006 at 11:07:13 PT
Press Release from The Drug Policy Alliance
New DPA Office Works for Reform in Maryland***Friday, April 14, 2006Drug Policy Alliance focused on criminal justice policy reform in Maryland during the 2006 legislative session, which ended April 10. A new local DPA office is now laying the groundwork to return to the state legislature in 2007 with an even stronger impact.DPA's new DC metro area office worked on three priority bills this year with a coalition that included Justice Maryland, a state-based grassroots group; Justice Policy Institute, a national organization which does research and media work to support sentencing and drug policy reform; and the Maryland Office of the Public Defenders, which provides statewide indigent defense. The coalition, called the Campaign for Treatment Not Incarceration, focused its 2006 legislative efforts on sentencing reform and voting rights. None of the bills passed, but the coalition's work educating legislators and getting media coverage around the state helped create dialogue about the need for reform. This heightened awareness will position the issues to be revisited in the 2007 legislative session.HB 603, sponsored by Del. Salima Marriot, would have automatically restored voting rights to people who have completed their sentence for a felony conviction. Right now, the process of regaining the ability to vote in Maryland is so punitive and confusing that it disenfranchises more than 140,000 residents who should have a voice in the democratic process, 60% of whom are African American.According to a July 2002 Harris Interactive poll, 80% of Americans believe that all people who have completed their sentences should have the right to vote. The same poll found that over 60% of Americans believe that citizens on probation or parole should have the right to vote. The Campaign for Treatment Not Incarceration will work over the next year to help Maryland law move into step with the wishes of voters on this issue.HB 877, sponsored by Del. Darryl Kelley, and SB 592, sponsored by Sen. Ralph Hughes, would both have restored some decision-making power to judges during sentencing. These bills would have given judges the discretion to suspend a portion or all of a mandatory minimum sentence on a case-by-case basis. The bill also sought to make people sentenced under a mandatory sentence eligible for parole.In addition to this coalition work, DPA also focused on other Maryland bills this year. Naomi Long, director of DPA's new office, submitted written and oral testimony in support of House Bill 656, a successful procedural clarification for judges on the 2004 Treatment Not Incarceration bill. The bill unanimously passed both houses and was signed into law by the governor. In 2004, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that Maryland was one of 11 states that experienced a decline in its prison population, and most of the reduction was drug prisoners.The DC metropolitan area office also partnered with Americans for Safe Access (ASA) on medical marijuana legislation, which would have removed the criminal conviction for patients who successfully offer a medical necessity defense under Maryland's current Compassionate Use Act. Though the legislation did not pass, DPA and ASA are committed to making sure patients in Maryland have the protections that they deserve.DPA also worked successfully to block bad legislation. This included a bill that would have created drug-free zones within 1,000 feet of community or recreation centers, despite overwhelming evidence showing that school zones are ineffective and racist.All this work in Maryland was made possible by the opening of the new District of Columbia metropolitan area DPA office. Over the next year, the office will be building its presence in Maryland so it can contribute to even greater reforms in 2007. If you would like to be involved, please contact the office director, Naomi Long. 
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/041406maryland.cfm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 14, 2006 at 10:52:49 PT
Related Article from WBALChannel.com
UMd. Students Endorse Softer Marijuana Penalties April 14, 2006COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- A referendum to loosen on-campus penalties for marijuana possession was approved by two-thirds of the students who voted in the University of Maryland's student government elections this week.The vote makes the university the fifth school in the nation where students have endorses similar referenda that lessen penalties so that they are treated the same as alcohol violations, part of a campaign to make marijuana a safer alternative to drinking."We are pumped," said senior and campaign activist Damien Nichols, while wearing a T-shirt bearing a marijuana leaf. "The students have spoken!"The administration, however, may not be listening. 
 The vote is largely symbolic - students have no actual power to change school policies. And only 4,500 of the 25,000 undergraduates eligible to vote in the student government elections case ballots.Linda Clement, the university's vice president for student affairs and administration, said the school takes student opinions seriously but doubted the university would change its rules to treat marijuana and alcohol the same way. She noted marijuana can lead to harder drugs, dealers and crime."You've got to look at these two issues differently," she said. "Our campus police believe very strongly that drug activity attracts people to the campus who are dangerous."The vote comes after students have taken part in several post-game melees after wins by university teams in the past several years, most fueled in part by alcohol. Last week, drunken students set fires in College Park after the women's basketball team won the national title.The campaign, under the name Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, to loosen marijuana penalties began at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University after two students died after drinking. Students at the University of Texas and Florida State University passed similar proposals earlier this year.However, none of the schools changed their policies.Students at Maryland caught with drugs could be suspended for a year and be forced to move out of on-campus housing. Students can opt for ongoing education and drug testing as an alternative to suspension, said John Zacker of the university's director of student conduct.Those who violate alcohol rules are less likely to lose housing or be suspended, he said. The school, with about 35,000 students, has hundreds of liquor violations every year and fewer than 100 drug violations, Zacker said.Copyright 2006 by The Associated Presshttp://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/8697788/detail.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by FoM on April 14, 2006 at 10:02:15 PT
Related Article from The Baltimore Sun
Campus Gone To Pot ***Published: April 14, 2006University of Maryland, College Park students have hit upon an idea to reduce date rapes, alcohol poisonings and other ills associated with binge drinking: promote pot. In a campus referendum yesterday, students voted overwhelmingly in favor of reducing the university's penalties for using and possessing marijuana. Supporters say students get into more trouble when they're drunk than when they're high. "It is time for university leaders to recognize marijuana for what it is - a relatively benign recreational substance less likely than alcohol to lead to violence, riots and even death," says Victor Pinho, president of the Terps chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Any chance that administrators will take their advice? No word yet. I'm guessing they won't be so high (sorry) on the idea. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.vozzella14apr14,0,3587367.column?coll=bal-local-columnists
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by unkat27 on April 14, 2006 at 05:50:17 PT
Student-related story, check this out
In my own back-yard, 9 high school kids were recently victimized by a female narc posing as a student who expressed a really "desperate" need for marijuana and other drugs. It's a story about a little girl-lost in need of help from friends and peers who go out of their way to help her find pot and end up getting busted for it. The tactics of this deceptive narc have been seriously criticized by the locals and the parents of these kids.Sometimes this link takes you to a mapinc support page, so you might have to click it more than once to reach the story.
US MA: Officer Posing As High Schooler Leads Drug Sting
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by runderwo on April 14, 2006 at 00:18:59 PT
the big switch
"Smoke-ins at U-Md. in the 1970s gave way in the 1980s to a much stricter policy, put in place after basketball star Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose."Here is where the article switches from marijuana to 'drugs'. I really hate that.
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 13, 2006 at 23:01:05 PT

Safer
Good job!!!
[ Post Comment ]





  Post Comment