SSDP SHOULD SET THEIR GOAL HIGHER

Maybe the Students for Sensible Drug Policy has set their goal too low
when trying to reduce the punishment for marijuana usage. There is
another deadly chemical compound that currently has no punishment in
the Virginia Tech Judicial System.The name of this deadly compound is
Dihydrogen Monoxide. It kills more people every year than marijuana
and alcohol usage combined. In its variety of forms DHMO contributes
to acid rain, soil erosion, automobile brakes failure and can also
cause death through inhalation, ingestion and even mere gaseous
exposure. In fact, the Tech administration looks the other way as this
compound is made readily available to most Tech students at little to
no cost. Since DHMO is more dangerous than marijuana, and DHMO
currently has no judicial punishment, pot should have no punishment
also, right? Wrong. Arguing that a punishment for one deadly substance
should be decreased to the level of another deadly substance's
punishment is a logical fallacy. Gandhi said "An eye for an eye makes
the whole world blind." Maybe in this case it makes us drunk and high.

The fact is that Virginia Tech's Judicial System mirrors the real
world with severe punishments for illegal drug use, lesser punishments
for alcohol use and no punishments for water (DHMO) consumption. If
you went to your boss at your job after you tested positive for
marijuana and asked for two more chances, he'd laugh at you. I'm not
saying that pot is bad or that I don't believe the state laws need
revisiting. I commend the Student Government Association for
discussing these issues that affect students, but until the real world
treats pot the same way as alcohol, the punishments at Tech need to
remain unchanged.

Scott Cheatham

Senior, Math Education Major