DRUG ABUSE

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