cannabisnews.com: He Dares Question Idiocy of Drug War on Campus!





He Dares Question Idiocy of Drug War on Campus!
Posted by FoM on March 15, 1999 at 11:00:41 PT

Murderers and rapists are eligible for federal student aid. Pot smokers are not.This idiocy, though, is not what turned Heath Wintz into a warrior against the drug war.
DARE performed that trick, back when the Columbus State Community College honors student was in middle school.Wintz, 21, a clean-cut, well- spoken sophomore studying environmental engineering, was gathering signatures in the student lounge at Nestor Hall when I met him last week.Wintz would like students to take a stand against the Higher Education Act of 1998.One provision denies aid to students convicted of sale or possession of drugs while another provides money to educate those locked up for non-drug crimes.Wintz noted, correctly, that this makes no sense."I'm just sorry that I'm one of the few people who find this offensive enough to speak out,'' he said.His efforts at Columbus State yielded 84 signatures last week -- more than in a earlier attempt, when campus officials and security guards forced him to scram."The student-activities people gave me no flak this time, other than asking me to leave at the time I had printed on my fliers,'' he said.Wintz began to question the drug war 10 years ago when he noticed that only police, not doctors or psychologists, taught his Drug Abuse Resistance Education classes.He'd seen older kids smoking marijuana "and they weren't dying, like they said in DARE.''"As I got older, I could see that people can smoke pot and still can do well in college, can succeed in life."So I asked questions. In DARE, though, they wouldn't stray from the rehearsed rhetoric. As you can guess, I wasn't a very popular kid.''Wintz insisted he's not advocating marijuana use. He's merely sharing his discovery that far more lives are destroyed bydrug warriors and their laws than by the pharmacological effects of drugs.Many Columbus State students -- especially those in law-enforcement classes -- took issue with Wintz's efforts. Others refused to sign Wintz's petition because they feared government reprisal.I can't fault them. In times of war, there's no such thing as paranoia.The feds have begun a crackdown in California against supporters of the medical use of marijuana, arresting author Peter McWilliams, 1998 Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Steven Kubby, Kubby's wife and others.Forfeiture laws allow police across the country to seize cars, homes and money on the flimsiest of drug- related pretexts.Fortunately, opposition to drug-war madness has arisen across the political spectrum, from Barney Frank to William F. Buckley. On the other hand, Bill Clinton, who prefers not to inhale (I imagine him chewing the ends of his reefers like cigar butts), was a big supporter of the legislation Wintz opposes.My stand on casual drug use resembles Hillary Rodham Clinton's on casual adultery: I don't endorse it, but I tolerate it for the sake of the Constitution.The real battles, though, will fall to the next generation.I've always considered DARE a complete waste of time and money. But if it can help turn the best and brightest into young drug-war cynics, I may just change my mind.Steve Stephens is a Dispatch Metro columnist. He can be reached at 461-5201 orsstephen dispatch.comhttp://www.dispatch.com/pan/news/steppnws.html
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: