cannabisnews.com: Campus Activists Hit Law Stripping Aid! 





Campus Activists Hit Law Stripping Aid! 
Posted by FoM on March 07, 1999 at 11:00:43 PT
from drug offenders!
DURHAM - Steven Diamond is no champion of drug abuse. Still, the outspoken University of New Hampshire senior is bothered by a new law that strips federal education dollars from college students convicted of doing drugs.
''I'm not saying people should do drugs,'' said Diamond, a member of New Hampshire Youth Mobilization, a campus group focusing on social justice issues. It's just that taking away a student's aid money isn't the answer, he argued. A provision of the Higher Education Act of 1998 is provoking anger among some New Hampshire student activists who say it is punitive and discriminates against less affluent students.The law denies or delays federal education grant, loan or subsidized job opportunities for any student convicted of owning or selling drugs under federal or state law.The measure, signed into law last fall, is touted by politicians as a way to get tough on drugs. Federal Department of Education enforcement guidelines are expected later this month.But campus critics here contend that it is misguided. And a Washington-based group organizing students across the country to lobby Congress for its repeal charges that it turns the nation's drug war into ''a war on student access to higher education.''''We're enforcing the drug war against the poor,'' objects Adam Smith, associate director of the Drug Reform Coordination Network.UNH sophomore Alice Crocker is state student coordinator of Amnesty International, which has six college and 14 high school groups across New Hampshire.''I'm a `straight-edge' and I don't think anyone needs to take in any foreign substance into their body,'' said Crocker, using slang to describe someone who does not use drugs or alcohol.Careful not to judge her peers, Crocker said: ''Abusing drugs is a sympton of feeling alienated and not understanding yourself, and taking away money is not the solution. The solution is raising kids to understand themselves. All this punishment doesn't focus on the problem. It focuses on making kids pay.''Diamond accuses some politicians of forgetting their own youthful drug indiscretions. ''Some of the same people who made these laws - Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton, multiple key politicians - have already smoked pot themselves,'' Diamond said. ''Now they want to take away your financial aid so you can't get an education ... It's really hypocritical.''Just how long the new law deprives a student of federal education money depends on the offense: one year for first-time drug possession, two years for the second-time drug possession or first-time drug sale, and indefinitely from then on. A student can apply for money back earlier by going through a drug rehabilitation program and two random drug tests over six months.But critics say that is too time-consuming and fails to take into account the lack of publicly funded treatment programs, again penalizing students who are not affluent. They also say the new measure doesn't look at circumstances surrounding the offense or even what drug was involved.National statistics show that more than half of high school seniors admit to having used some sort of controlled substance at one time. ''That's a problem we're concerned about,'' said Adam Smith. ''But we don't believe putting obstacles in the way to college is the way to deal with it.''Marijuana remains the drug of choice among the young, he said. ''The overwhelming majority of young people convicted of drug offenses are found guilty of simple drug possession. Our answer as a society is we'll make it more difficult for young people to educate themselves? And because aid is need-based, the penalty will only apply to poor and moderate-income students.''Another issue is whether the punishment fits the crime. While some students need drug treatment, Smith said that, for many, ''marijuana possession doesn't mean you need drug treatment any more than an 18-year-old caught with a beer means they're alcoholic.''Lisa Harrison, a spokeswoman for Senator Bob Smith, points out that the Higher Education Act won near unanimous approval in the Senate because its main thrust was ''to increase higher education funding.''''The reason Senator Smith supported the bill is it lowered the student loan rate, increased Pell grants, creates a loan-forgiveness program for students who obtain work in the child-care industry or gain teaching jobs in school districts that serve low-income children, and increased the work-study program,'' she said.But because the senator favors ''a strong antidrug message,'' Harrison said ''this provision is certainly one facet of [the higher education act] which he believes will help get drug use and drug abuse under control.''Not all New Hampshire college students are up in arms about the new law. A brief check at Dartmouth College, for example, yielded no student activists willing to make public statements about the issue.And UNH sophomore Fred Thornton, student senator for Tau Kappa Epsilon, applauds the measure as ''an attempt to curtail the rising drug problem in the country.''''If you're doing drugs, you're not in a situation where you can really learn,'' said Thornton, a member of the university's Drug Advisory Council. ''You need to take time off and find a solution to your problems.''And realistically, the new law may not affect many students.For example at UNH, there were 36 arrests for drug possession in 1997, said Bill Fischer, UNH associate director of student life. In 1996, the figure was 31.''We're looking at a relatively small number in relation to a student population of roughly 10,000,'' said Fischer, who runs the UNH Judicial Programs Office.But while the university has a ''zero tolerance'' policy for drug use, most typical first drug possession offenses do not block students from pursuing their education.Fischer said a typical first-time sanction for drug possession in a residence hall could be eviction from the dorms and disciplinary probation, plus a referral to health services. A subsequent offense would most likely lead to separation from the university for a period of time, he said.Critics say the new law is another story.One UNH student said she got a close look at US drug policies a while back when a friend was denied a federally funded environmental job in New Hampshire because of a past drug offense.''I think it unfairly discriminates against people who might have had problems when they were younger,'' said the student, who did not want to be identified. ''It's a stage. This is obviously a time in most people's lives when they experiment ... Most college students should be taken off campus to a halfway house for their alcohol problem.''For Diamond, the issue brings to mind famed children's activist Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund. At a rally for the nation's children several years ago, Edelman told a huge crowd: ''Some of our children are tracked for Princeton and Yale, and some of our children are tracked for prison and jail.''http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/066/newhampshire/Campus_activists_hit_law_stripping_aid_from_drug_offenders+.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by jose melendez on December 20, 2003 at 08:38:44 PT
Bad Mr. Looks to Washington.
from:  http://www.washtimes.com/national/inpolitics.htm   Smith's comeback     Former Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire, hoping to represent his 
newly adopted home state of Florida, says he plans to seek the seat of 
retiring Democratic Sen. Bob Graham.     Mr. Smith, a Republican who moved to Sarasota in May, told the 
Associated Press on Wednesday that he will formally announce his 
candidacy next month.     "I'm going to run a campaign which I basically offer my credentials to 
the people of Florida, my seniority, my experience in the Senate," Mr. 
Smith said. "I want to help President Bush. This is a critical state for the 
president."     The two-term senator was defeated in last year's Republican primary 
by John E. Sununu. In June, he took a job selling high-end waterfront 
real estate in Longboat Key. This is the same Mr. Smith from above who supported the HIgher 
Education Act provisions that stripped college loans from potheads, 
DESPITE ONGOING OFFICIAL CLAIMS THAT FIFTY PERCENT OF HIGH 
SCHOOL SENIORS TRIED POT LAST YEAR. Apparently, rapists and 
murderers get to keep their college loans.We the oppressed marijuana people are the majority. Find Bob Smith, 
and let him know drug war IS crime. from: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/9/25/
194151.shtmlWhy did Smith lose - especially since he had twice as much money in the 
bank for the primary? The answer must be that Smith's 1999 departure 
from the GOP to run for president as an Independent - blasting his party 
for "abandoning conservative principles," and then meekly returning just 
weeks later when a juicy committee chairmanship was dangled in his 
face - made Smith the laughingstock of the New Hampshire Republican 
Party. Bob Smith is a good man - and was a damn good senator. But many 
Granite State Republicans were embarrassed by Smith's national 
ambitions. They were the ones, including former Sen. Warren Rudman, 
who urged young Sununu to give up his safe House seat and challenge 
Smith.from: http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/000867.html . . . The AP is reporting that Smith may announce his candidacy very 
soon after having been encouraged by friends to seek the seat currently 
held by the retiring Bob Graham (D)."I'm going to take a look at it, a very serious look at it and probably 
make a final decision in the next two weeks at the most," Smith said in 
an interview.Noting his record opposing Fidel Castro and supporting NASA, Smith 
suggested his record coincides nicely with Florida's political interests."When I looked at all of this, I really have been quite involved in a lot of 
issues concerning Florida," Smith told the AP.Smith's candidacy would be a bizarre addition to an increasingly large 
GOP field of Senate candidates. Just a month ago, the only Republicans 
who appeared interested in the race were a former member of Congress 
who lost a Senate bid in 2000, two members of the state legislature, and 
a right-wing legal activist in DC.Suddenly, however, several high-profile candidates have been inching 
closer to running. First, one-term House member Katherine Harris 
indicated she might run, despite her polarizing role in the 2000 recount 
debacle. Then, HUD Secretary Mel Martinez indicated he might reverse 
his early pledge and enter the race, responding to White House pressure. 
Now, an embarrassing former New Hampshire senator wants in.In fact, reading some of his comments, Smith sounds like he has already 
decided to run."I want to talk about the future, of how I can take Florida into the future 
and I'm very excited about it," Smith said.I'm not sure Florida Republicans will be welcoming Smith with open 
arms. Geoffrey Becker, executive director of the state GOP, said Smith 
"would make an interesting addition" to the Republican field. (I think 
that's the equivalent of saying he has a "nice personality")I'd like to make an early prediction: Smith will not win in Florida and 
won't go far in the Republican primary. Florida is a crazy state, but it's 
not that crazy.
Article III, Section 3 defines drug war as treason. Really. Got that, ONDCP?
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