SENSIBILITY ON CANNABIS

Are you high right now?" Stephen Colbert asked Ethan Nadelmann,
executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, who appeared on the
Jan. 8 episode of The Colbert Report. This question is the standard
response to any proposal intended to reform insensible drug policies.
So, in answer, I am not high right now, nor am I a stoner. One does
not need to be personally affected by unjust policies in order to see
why they must change.

On Feb. 27, the Residence Halls Association will vote on a proposal to
move possession of a small amount of marijuana from an A-level
violation to a B-level violation in the Residence Hall Rules. A-level
violations include offenses such as setting fires, breaking into a
dorm room and use of a weapon. Immediate housing termination is the
standard punishment for these offenses because, except for marijuana
possession, all of them significantly harm other students and/or their
property.

B-level violations include underage alcohol possession and
"disorderly, or disruptive behaviors which interfere with another
person's free exercise of academic or personal pursuits or their
ability to sleep or study." These violations may harm the individual,
often disrupt dorm residents and always result in disciplinary action.
However, in most cases, housing termination is deemed an inappropriate
sanction for B-level violations.

To me, housing termination (not to mention police involvement,
one-year suspension, potential loss of financial aid, etc.) does not
seem like a remotely practical or fair way of dealing with students
who possess a small amount of marijuana.

Under the proposed change, cultivation and distribution of marijuana
would remain an A-level violation, which eliminates any incentive for
distributors and cultivators to increase their illegal activities on
the campus. However, possessing an amount of marijuana too small for
distribution would become a B-level violation. Only students who have
small amounts would be affected by the proposed change. Thus, the
amount of crime on the campus would not increase.

It is true the university cannot condone marijuana use or underage
drinking. However, it can respect students' ability to learn from
their mistakes instead of enforcing zero-tolerance policies that
greatly hinder academic success. Only 48 hours after the marijuana
possession offense is committed, which can happen at any point in the
academic year, students must secure off-campus housing. This not only
puts a lot of pressure on students, but some are unable to afford
alternative housing (as dorm fees are not refunded) and are forced to
withdraw from the university. Being caught with the smallest trace of
marijuana - for example, traces of resin on a pipe - results in the
implementation of these obstacles that are incredibly disproportionate
to the crime committed.

At the same time, residents who commit underage alcohol possession
offenses are given sanctions on a case-by-case basis depending on the
circumstances of the incident. They are put on housing probation but
are not evicted except in the presence of unusual circumstances.

This proposal does not aim to equalize alcohol and marijuana or to
eliminate punishments for drug offenses in dorms. It simply recognizes
that it is only necessary to evict students who present a real risk to
the physical safety of other residents. (How many times have you
encountered a half-baked belligerent?) We cannot and would not propose
to legalize marijuana in the dorms, but the RHA can vote to hold
students wholly responsible for their illegal actions in a way that
does not affect the rest of their academic careers.

Many of the nation's leading academic institutions have adopted drug
policies that treat students with compassion instead of immediately
casting them out as unworthy criminals. Changing the Residence Hall
Rules is not only legal and doable, but it would reflect positively on
the university's public image as an institution that treats students
like the adults that they are.

Even those who would love to support this proposal find it outlandish
simply because it appears to be soft on marijuana (as opposed to less
ridiculously harsh on students). Frankly, change is not an outlandish
or futile effort at all. Honest! It's all laid out in a sensible
proposal, and all we need are some "yeas." If you live on the campus
and the idea of moving first-time possession of a small amount of
marijuana to a B-level violation appeals to you, please let your RHA
senator know of your support so he or she may vote accordingly Feb.
27.

For more information about university drug policy reform or how to
contact your senator, check out www.ssdpterps.net.

Rebecca Ogle is a freshman English major.