DRUG POLICIES HARM STUDENTS

Many of you may be surprised to learn 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 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 (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 wars have
unfairly imposed on students. The way the Aid Elimination Penalty is
written, students who commit property crimes, violent crimes or 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 Wichita go to city court,
so the Aid Elimination Penalty does not apply. It only counts in
state or federal court. The second marijuana possession charge
automatically goes to state court and is a felony.

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 continue 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 fairer future while fighting back against counterproductive
Drug War policies, particularly those directly harming students and youth.

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