STUDENTS' PAST DRUG OFFENSES SCUTTLE COLLEGE AID

PORTLAND, Maine -- Hundreds of college students across northern New
England have been denied federal financial aid because of past drug
offenses or their refusal to answer questions about drug convictions.

A federal policy that went into effect six years ago has resulted in
financial aid being denied to 669 of 356,394 financial aid applicants
in Maine, according U.S. Department of Education figures.

At the same time, the policy resulted in 541 of 322,761 applicants
being denied aid in New Hampshire, and 204 of 172,625 applicants
being denied in Vermont.

Maine's rejection rate is below the national average, but the policy
is still of concern to Zachary Heiden of the Maine Civil Liberties
Union, who said that education funding is crucial to employment and
keeping young people away from crime.

The law, Heiden said, discriminates against the poor because it may
not affect students with affluent parents who can pay for college
without financial aid. It is also unfair because students convicted
of other crimes remain eligible for aid, he said.

"You can literally get away with murder," Heiden said.

Congress adopted rules in 1998 as part of changes to the Higher
Education Act that restricts financial aid to applicants with drug
offenses on their records.

Students are denied aid for one year for a first offense for drug
possession, two years for a second offense and indefinitely for more
offenses. A first offense for selling illegal drugs makes the
applicant ineligible for two years and indefinitely for any subsequent offense.

A state-by-state breakdown of the numbers was compiled this month by
the advocacy group Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

The highest rejection rates were in Oregon and California, with Rhode
Island and Connecticut having the top rejection rates in New England.

Vermont had a rejection rate of 0.12 percent, which was the nation's
lowest. New Hampshire had a rejection rate of 0.17 percent, while
Maine's was 0.19 percent.

Congress loosened the restriction in February so that starting in the
fall, only convictions while the student is in college will result in
lost financial aid.

But critics are trying to overturn the policy entirely.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Students for Sensible Drug
Policy filed a lawsuit last month in U.S. District Court in South
Dakota. The suit says the policy is unconstitutional because it
punishes someone twice for the same offense.

Ruth Blauer, executive director of the Maine Association of Substance
Abuse Programs, is quoted in a report from her group warning that
obstacles to education may prevent people struggling with addictions
from becoming productive.

The law "is not a deterrent to drug use; it's a deterrent to
recovery," she said.