STUDENTS HAVE POINT ABOUT POT

More than 40 years since Woodstock, Colorado is still having trouble
figuring out what to do about marijuana. As that unfolds, some Fort
Lewis College students are asking that as an infraction of school
rules, pot users be treated the same as those caught violating the
college's policy on alcohol.

It seems like a reasonable request. There is no reason college policy
should arbitrarily deem one more serious than the other.

That is especially true in that government cannot decide how to deal
with pot. Colorado voters approved a ballot measure in 2000 that
legalized medical marijuana. That went no-where for years because the
Bush administration rigidly enforced federal laws that make no such
exception.

Now, though, the Obama administration has said it would not prosecute
people involved with medical marijuana, and dispensaries have
sprouted everywhere state law allows - including Colorado. That has
left both state and local governments scrambling to enact reasonable
regulations that respect the voter-approved medical marijuana
exception and the long-held fear that legalizing pot would encourage
increased drug abuse.

FLC mirrors that confusion. The college says all infractions are
handled on a case-by-case basis and that marijuana violations are not
necessarily treated more severely.

But the Student Conduct Code says drug use or possession will be met
with "substantial disciplinary action," which could include
suspension from school. Violating the alcohol policy also could lead
to suspension, but the same code also specifically lists several
possible lesser penalties in its section about alcohol. There is no
mention of those in regard to marijuana and anecdotal accounts
suggest students have been suspended for pot use.

The argument that the two should be treated differently because
marijuana is illegal does not hold water. Few students living on
campus are older than 21, and a minor possessing alcohol is as
illegal as having a small quantity of pot.

The nation remains confused and conflicted about marijuana, and FLC
is no different. But that should not be reflected in the treatment of
an underclassmen guilty of what is little more than an error in
judgment. The college has a right and a responsibility to maintain
order, safety and propriety on campus. But it also has an obligation
to do it fairly.