SHOLARSHIPS SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AWAY BECAUSE OF PAST DRUG CHARGES

There is currently a provision within the Higher Education Act that is
under fire by both the ACLU and the SSDP: the Students for Sensible Drug
Policy.

This provision blocks any person who has been convicted of a drug offense
to be eligible for financial aid. Thus far, this provision had blocked more
than 200,000 prospective college students from receiving financial aid
since it was enacted in 2000. More than 250 organizations have called for
the full repeal of the law, citing various reasons, but most of all, that
it is unconstitutional.

First and foremost, the lawsuit filed challenges the federal law, citing it
"violates the 'double jeopardy' clause of the Fifth Amendment," according
to the SSDP website at http://www.ssdp.org/lawsuit. This lawsuit does
indeed punish those who have already been convicted and who have served
their punishments once again. Once these students clean up their act and
try to better themselves by gaining an education, they are punished again
by being barred from receiving financial aid.

Kris Krane, executive director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy, said
in an SSDP press release: "This law causes more drug problems. Providing
students with continued access to education is the best way to ensure they
become productive taxpaying members of society."

How are students going to overcome the mistakes of their past if they are
continually punished for them? I can understand making further provisions
to this act, like if they had serious drug charges that involved a violent
crime, but even then they would be able to receive a college education for
free in jail paid for by federal money. It is only fair those people with
misdemeanor drug charges be able to get the same education and federal
benefits as murderers, rapists and pedophiles, as anyone who has committed
a crime other than one that is drug-related and can still receive financial
aid.

Another aspect of the provision that is being challenged is the fact that
not allowing prospective students to gain an education because of a drug
problem only makes our nation's drug problems worse.

According to www.ssdp.org/lawsuit, "Forcing students convicted of drug
charges to drop out of school makes them more likely to fall into drug
abuse or commit crimes (thus becoming costly burdens on the criminal
justice system) and less likely to become productive taxpaying citizens
(thus reducing the nation's economic productivity)." The website points out
that "this violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment's
'due process' clause."

I believe this is very true. People who fall into drugs usually do so
because they can see no other life for themselves and may doubt their own
self-worth. To have the government, which is set up to help our nation's
citizens, tell these people they are not worthy of aid to help them make
choices for themselves and change their lives for the better is disgraceful.

The federal financial aid program is supposed to help people from low- or
middle-income families, and preventing people from those income levels to
receive financial aid only prevents them from entering college. People with
the same convictions who come from higher income levels can afford to pay
the tuition without financial aid, so the law directly prevents the people
it was intended to help from gaining a college education.

Being someone who was very irresponsible and got into a lot of trouble as a
minor, I have felt the implications of this law. I have a prior drug
conviction and feel I paid for those crimes I committed and, more
importantly, I learned from them. I may not necessarily believe all of the
laws in this country are right, but I realize the importance of following
them, and the importance of accountability in that if I do decide to
violate a law, I deserve to pay for it. But I should not have to pay for it
for the rest of my life.

There are far worse things a person can do than smoke an occasional joint.
This law gives me the feeling the federal government feels drug offenses
are worse than murders because at least murderers are still worthy of
financial aid. The fact is the penalties for crimes in this country are
seriously unbalanced and sometimes even inappropriate. If I had a say in
changing the provision to the HEA, I would erase the provision completely.

I think if people who have committed far worse crimes aren't having to pay
for them by being barred from receiving an education that could make them
productive members of society, then drug offenders shouldn't have to
either. I would encourage students who have been discriminated against in
this way to come forward and file a statement with the SSDP via their website.