APRIL 20 PERFECT TIME TO TURN A NEW LEAF

Students who felt Bushwhacked after the 2004 presidential election will
likely experience a similar sensation today when authorities weed whack
students who publicly celebrate marijuana's holiday.

Police can slap first-time smokers with a $1,000 fine, six months in prison
and may add 100 extra hours of community service if the offender smokes
within 1,000 feet of a school or other specified areas.

The president's war on drugs will keep legalization out of legislation
nationally, but it is supported by several politicians in Madison to
decriminalize pot may permit changes in local policy.

In comparison to alcohol, marijuana poses a trivial threat to the
university's student body.

Although the controversy concerning marijuana seems to pit politicians
against drug users, many politicians in Madison actually endorse less
stringent marijuana laws. Included in the list of legalization advocates
are Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2; Ald. Brian Benford, District 12; Ald.
Austin King, District 8; and Ald. Ken Golden, District 10. Students with
the desire to get stoned without sentences should support these
politicians, including Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who supports
decriminalization and the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The mayor's policy of decriminalization has the potential to satisfy both
students and law enforcement. Either the current law would not be enforced
but remain in the books, or students charged with marijuana possession
would face a monetary penalty in lieu of incarceration. In the fight for a
reasonable marijuana law, students should accept the mayor's brand of
compromise as a progressive step toward a reasonable drug policy.

In the state Legislature, Assembly Bill 255 proposes a similar policy that
would decriminalize marijuana possession for first-time offenders in
Wisconsin. This proposal and the mayor's should receive united support from
conservatives and liberals on campus.

Conservative students who condemn these policies as hindrances to the war
on drugs should consider the similarities between today's drug war and
Prohibition, which succeeded to accomplish, well, nothing.

If conservatives genuinely want to fight for a morally sound Madison
campus, they should promote decriminalization as a way to reduce illegal
drug trafficking, violent crime and privacy violation.

School officials who criticize Madison's "work hard, party hard" reputation
should not fear that a relaxed marijuana policy would bolster this image.
Decriminalization has the potential to create a responsible social
environment for the controlled use of marijuana without inciting greater
alcohol abuse-the university's real problem.

As indicated by Madison's rankings as the number two school for "Lots of
Beer" and three for "Lots of Hard Liquor" by the Princeton Review, alcohol
presents the most daunting threat to the academic excellence of the student
body. The virtual decriminalization of underage drinking has imposed far
greater social ills on the Madison community than would arise from a
relaxed marijuana policy.

Students for decriminalizationof marijuana should celebrate April 20 by
rousing support for Assembly Bill 255. Students who remain wary or desire
more information about decriminalization should attend the debate today at
7 p.m., Memorial Union TITU to learn about marijuana policy.

If pot advocates mobilize and facilitate passage of Assembly Bill 255, the
dust may settle between pro- and anti-marijuana forces, and the smoke may
finally rise in the state of Wisconsin.

*Jill Klosterman is a freshman planning on majoring in journalism.