FINDING A BALANCE WHEN ENFORCING MARIJUANA POLICY

As a fellow student at Virginia Tech, I cannot believe some of the
words that were used in the letter to the editor Feb. 7. What is the
major difference between someone who often smokes marijuana and
someone who goes out and gets drunk five nights a week? I have seen
quite a few people drop out of Virginia Tech because all they did
their freshman year was party, but alcohol still has a three-strike
policy. Again, marijuana is illegal by Virginia law, but so is
underage possession of alcohol, yet underage possession will not get
you kicked out of school. By state law, underage possession of
alcohol can land you up to a $2,500 fine and/or 12 months in jail. On
the other hand, possession of marijuana is a $500 dollar fine and/or
up to 30 days in jail. My information for the alcohol laws comes
straight out of Virginia Tech's own website, www.alcohol.vt.edu, and
the laws on marijuana can be found at www.norml.com. I personally do
not agree with a three-strike policy for marijuana, but I sure do not
think it should be zero tolerance either.

Nick Kehoe

Sophomore, Civil Engineering