STUDENT FOR SENSIBLE DRUG POLICY NEEDED

Many of you may be surprised to learn that students with drug
convictions have been blocked access to federal financial aid as a
result of a little known provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA)
called the Aid Elimination Penalty, or Drug Provision.

To date, nearly 200,000 students have been denied or had their federal
loans, grants and work-study delayed because of the HEA Aid
Elimination Penalty.

Until early in 2006, this penalty was applied to any drug conviction a
person had received whether or not they were in school when the
offense occurred. Due to the efforts of the organization Students for
Sensible Drug Policy (www.ssdp.org), who worked with Congress to scale
back the law, now only people who are convicted while in college and
receiving financial aid can have their eligibility taken away.

It's a small change to the law but an important step on the road to
scaling back the - get tough on crime' policies the drug war have
unfairly imposed on students.

The way the Aid Elimination Penalty is written, students who commit
property crimes, violent crimes, get a DUI or MIP are not subject to
any penalty at all. Students who get one conviction for possession of
marijuana in a state court will lose their aid for one year. A second
drug conviction will put you out two years, and a third for life.

First-time marijuana possession charges in Hays go to city court in so
the Aid Elimination Penalty does not apply (it only counts in state or
federal court). The second marijuana conviction lands you in state
court, and if convicted you also become a felon.

If you think because you don't use drugs the Aid Elimination Policy
can't affect you, think again. Students who are simply in the wrong
place at the wrong time can lose college aid. Police officers called
to a residence hall or private home on a noise complaint can arrest
everyone in the room if drugs are found in plain view. During traffic
stops if police find drugs under the seat or in the glove box,
everyone goes to jail.

Fortunately, there are students who are continuing to educate fellow
students and challenge the government's drug control policies.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) argue "statistics and common
sense tell us it doesn't make sense to pull students out of school if
we want to reduce drug abuse and encourage young people to become
successful citizens. The Aid Elimination Policy of the Higher
Education Act obstructs the path to education. It perverts the Act's
important, noble intentions."

SSDP chapters across the country are speaking out about the harms of
prohibition from the DARE generation perspective, your generation, who
are bearing the brunt of America's failure to create a drug-free America.

SSDP's mission is to mobilize and empower young people to participate
in the political process, pushing for sensible policies to achieve a
safer and more just future, while fighting back against
counterproductive Drug War policies, particularly those that directly
harm students and youth.

I urge students to get involved in SSDP - an international
grassroots network of students who are concerned about the impact drug
abuse has on our communities, but who also know that the War on Drugs
is failing their generation and our society.

Laura A. Green is the Executive Director of the Drug Policy Forum of
Kansas, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting debate and
education on America's longest war, the War on Drugs.