SGA PUTS POT REFERENDUM ON BALLOT

If deciding the new representatives to head the SGA next year isn't
enough incentive, students now have another reason to cast a ballot
in this year's election: to express their opinion on whether the
university should relax its policy regarding marijuana use.

At its Wednesday meeting, the Student Government Association approved
a referendum question that asks students whether they think
university punishments for marijuana use and possession should be
equivalent to the looser punishments for underage drinking.

"The overriding message is that we want to engage student opinion
regarding the university's current drug and alcohol policies," said
Chris Biggs, an SGA residential legislator and sponsor of the
referendum. "We think this is extremely important because there is a
huge discrepancy between underage drinking and marijuana."

According to university policy, on-campus students found with
marijuana immediately lose their housing and could face suspension
and/or mandatory university drug testing. Underage students found
with alcohol, on the other hand, are given a warning and possible
community service for their first offense and must violate alcohol
policies again before their housing is jeopardized.

Biggs, who is also a resident assistant in La Plata Hall, said he
thinks this bill is important to students because the current
marijuana policies can ruin a student's life.

"I've seen far too many students getting caught, losing financial aid
and housing and having their lives turned upside down," he said.

The proposal was written by the university's Students for Sensible
Drug Policy leader Damien Nichols and National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws President Victor Pinho. In its original
form, the proposal was a binding resolution, which means if 50.2
percent of students supported efforts to change the current drug
policies, then the SGA would have to do everything within their power
to make sure the administration changed its policies, said SGA
academic legislator Kevin Rodkey.

"This created some concern because 50.2 percent or even 55 percent of
students is not a strong majority, and a drastic change in policy
like this should be supported by a strong majority of students," Rodkey said.

Rodkey amended the proposal to make the referendum non-binding. If
the majority of students say that the policy should be changed, then
incoming SGA leaders will have to decide whether they want to lobby
for the changes.

But passing the referendum does not ensure a change in the
campus-wide policy. "We would ask our people in the Office of Student
Conduct to analyze the referendum and decide what the implications
are," said Linda Clement, vice president of student affairs. While
Clement had yet to see the referendum, she said administrators always
take the SGA's recommendations seriously.

Devin Ellis, the SGA's chief of staff, said a low voter turnout was
expected for this year's election. With this new referendum included,
however, some leaders think that more students will vote, if only to
help change current drug policies.

"The key element is that the higher the voter turnout, the more
validity the referendum ballot will have as being representative of
students and how they feel," Ellis said.

When creating their proposal, Nichols and Pinho said that they based
their arguments on the SAFER campaign. Several universities across
the country are using the foundations of the campaign to equalize
alcohol and marijuana punishments.

"The SAFER campaign is a relatively new project that works on the
premise that while there are statistics to prove the detrimental
effects of alcohol on society, there is no number in recorded
medicine of fatalities from marijuana use," Pinho said. "The campaign
is based upon the idea of choosing marijuana as a safer alternative
to alcohol."

While the university would be the first in the Washington area to
implement such changes, according to Nichols, several schools in the
country have already used the SAFER campaign to effect change in
their administration's marijuana policies, such as the University of
Rhode Island and the University of Texas at Austin.

Sponsors of the bill said students don't have to support drug use to
vote in support.

"I am not a supporter of marijuana. I think breaking the law is a bad
idea, but I think there is something to be said about the growing
discrepancy between marijuana and alcohol," Biggs said.