This past week, The Cavalier Daily has run an editorial and a column
supporting the Drug-Free Student Loan Amendment. This law takes away
student loans from any student who has been caught with any amount of
drugs. Marijuana is more widely used than all of the other illegal
drugs combined.

Therefore, this law will mostly pick on the people who smoke
marijuana. This is extremely unfair for several reasons.

First, marijuana has been repeatedly shown to be less dangerous than
alcohol and tobacco. Credible journals such as The Lancet, Great
Britain's leading health publication, and Scientific American have
affirmed this. The biggest danger in smoking marijuana is to damage
the lungs, which has no effect on a student's ability to learn.

The amendment also discriminates against low-income students. Rich
students can smoke marijuana without the danger of losing their
funding for a college education. Students that depend on financial aid
are therefore held to a higher standard. The argument has been made
that if students receiving financial aid purchase drugs, then in
effect the government paid for these drugs. This is ridiculous because
then by the same logic the government also pays for their pizza or CDs
or concert tickets, and also beer and cigarettes.

Erin Perucci wrote that "The federal government shouldn't spend its
money on those who think nothing of breaking the law." She obviously
lacks an understanding of the law because people convicted of rape and
murder are still eligible for financial aid.

Apparently Uncle Sam would rather see murderers in college than
someone who smokes a bowl now and then. It's also extremely
hypocritical that many people who criticize marijuana smokers are the
same people who drink to excess on a regular basis. The financial aid
program was started so that less fortunate students could attend.
Smoking marijuana is a personal decision that does not adversely
affect a student's education.

Therefore whether or not someone has been convicted of possessing
marijuana should be irrelevant to whether they receive financial aid.

Shannon Mier
CLAS II