DRUG USE LIMITS FEDERAL STUDENT AID

Oregon Has Denied Thousands Of Students' FAFSAs Because Of
Drug-Related Convictions, Report Says

The police caught him once with a bag of marijuana. They caught him
again with a pipe.

The University student, who asked to remain anonymous, said his drug
convictions have forced him to lie on his Free Application for
Federal Student Aid form for each of the past four years because
otherwise he would lose the financial aid that he depends on to pay
his entire tuition.

Students who check yes to the FAFSA's question 31, which asks "Have
you ever been convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs?" are
denied financial aid.

"If I was gonna answer 'yes' to that question, I wouldn't even be
filling out the FAFSA," he said. "If it wasn't for financial aid, I
wouldn't be a student."

Had the Oregon student told the truth on his FAFSA, he would have
become one of thousands of students who have been denied financial
aid in Oregon, according to a recent report.

Only one other state turns away more students from financial aid
because of drug convictions than Oregon, which has rejected 3,637,
the report stated.

Released by Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, a national lobbying
group, the report shows that the government rejects slightly more
than 1 of every 300 students in Oregon for answering yes to question 31.

SSDP spokesman Tom Angell said the numbers show the harshness of each
state's drug laws, the state's level of drug use and the level of
honesty among students.

"If a student wants to stay in school, honesty may not be the best
policy," Angell said.

The U.S. Congress changed the penalty in February 2006 to affect only
those students who are convicted while receiving financial aid, U.S.
Department of Education spokeswoman Valerie Smith said. Students with
one possession conviction are ineligible for one year; at two
convictions they are ineligible for two years. At three, they are
ineligible indefinitely. Smith said students convicted of dealing are
ineligible for two years after their first offense and indefinitely
after their second.

If students complete court-approved rehabilitation programs, they
regain their eligibility for aid at any time, Smith said.

Smith said lying on the FAFSA is "punishable by a significant fine."

"It is to a student's benefit to provide adequate information," Smith said.

"We perform spot checks on different questions in the FAFSA," Smith
said, but it "would be logistically prohibitive to investigate every
student who applies to FAFSA."

Marilyn Nelson, administrator for the Eugene Municipal Court, said
the court offers a diversion program for students convicted of
possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, consisting of one
eight-hour class. The court developed the program in conjunction with
the University's Substance Abuse Prevention Program after the
Halloween riots on 1998 and 1999, Nelson said, specifically to help
students retain their financial aid. After completing the program,
the court expunges charges from students' records, making them
eligible again for financial aid.

Figures from the Department of Public Safety show that students
received 104 marijuana citations in 2005, and, Nelson said, 70 people
completed the diversion program for marijuana during the last school
year. The less-than-an-ounce ticket comes with a charge of $250,
Nelson said, but a student who takes diversion pays only $110.

The issue is also the subject of national and congressional debate.

The report includes a list of more than 50 student governments that
have called for the repeal of the provision, including Georgetown
University, Yale University, American University and Dartmouth College.

The SSDP report shows Indiana as the state with the largest
percentage of students rejected. One of every 200 students was denied
aid. Rep. Mark Souder of Indiana authored the Higher Education Act
Aid Elimination Provision in 1998, the law that originally stripped
eligibility from all students who had ever been convicted of drug
possession or distribution.

"He threw a grenade up a hill and it came rolling right back down to
his feet," Angell said.

Martin Green, spokesman for Souder, said "there has to be
accountability. Those students who commit drug crimes should not be
receiving funds from the American taxpayer until they can prove they're clean."

Green said the numbers showing Indiana's high rate of rejection were
irrelevant.

"The principle is what's important here," Green said. "It really
doesn't matter who's ranked first or last."

Green also said that Souder originally intended for the bill to apply
only to students convicted while receiving aid, but the Clinton
administration misinterpreted the bill's intent.

A bill currently in consideration in the House of Representatives, HR
1184, aims to repeal the provision, but Congress sent it to a
subcommittee, from which few bills return.

"I would bet you that it dies," Green said.

Barney Frank, D-Mass., sponsored the bill, and Oregon congressmen
Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer were among the 69 co-sponsors.

Tom Kiley, spokesman for one of the bill's co-sponsors, George
Miller, D-Calif., said that "When you break a law, we already have a
system of justice intended to deal with you."

The provision "violates the idea of double jeopardy," Kiley said.

Kiley said that when "some kid who dealt pot" tries to turn his or
her life around and go to college, the government should do all it
can to help that process. Kiley said that the provision pushes
students back toward delinquent behavior and not toward becoming
taxpaying members of society.

David Wu, D-Ore., supported changing the provision so it only applies
to students who committed their crimes while receiving aid, but he
did not approve getting rid of the punishment altogether.

In a statement, Wu said "we should not deny vital financial aid
dollars to students who have made a mistake in the past and are
attempting to improve their lives. But given the limited amount of
federal financial aid, it is reasonable and responsible to provide
those dollars to students who don't gamble with their higher education."

DeFazio's office would not comment on the legislation, and Blumenauer
could not be reached for comment before press time Tuesday.