FEDERAL DRUG LAW COULD USE A FIX

It is both ironic and unjust that an ex-convict who has served time
for a violent crime -- say, assault or even murder -- can go to
college and qualify for financial aid, and, yet, a college student who
has never committed an offense more egregious than experimenting with
a marijuana cigarette can be denied any federal financial aid whatsoever.

The problem isn't that the excon can qualify for financial aid. If
America stands for anything, it ought to be about second chances --
and a college education. A passport to economic opportunity ought not
be denied someone

who is trying to rehabilitate his life.

No, the problem is a draconian federal law that denies financial aid
to someone who once committed a minor drug offense that is, in some
jurisdictions, punishable by nothing more serious than a citation.

"It's a form of double jeopardy," said Jason Bell, a felon turned San
Francisco State University student who now helps other offenders
obtain financial aid, to The New York Times recently. "They (drug
offenders) do the time but then there are still roadblocks when they
finish. I don't believe people should be punished twice."

Neither does U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., author of the federal law
that has been used by both the Clinton and Bush administrations to
deny financial aid to students who have been caught experimenting with
drugs. He recently told The Times that both administrations have
misinterpreted the act and wrongly used it to punish drug offenders
who are trying to reclaim their lives by getting a higher education.

Whether the law is being correctly interpreted or not, it clearly
needs to be revised. But the revision being suggested by the
administration is only a partial fix. It would allow someone who
committed a drug offense before going to college to qualify for
financial aid, but it would continue to deny aid to college students
who get caught with drugs.

Under that "fix," a felon who has a lengthy rap sheet of drug
violations could qualify, but a 17year old freshman who is caught
taking his first puff of a marijuana cigarette would be denied aid for
at least a year.

The administration proposal, The Times reports, "would have the odd
effect of barring some first-time, minor offenders from getting
financial aid while restoring it to more serious drug
lawbreakers."

It's time for members of Congress to use some common sense when it
comes to using financial aid as a means of punishment. The truth is
that young people in college -- many of them "on their own" for the
first time in their lives -- are likely to be tempted to experiment
with drugs. To punish otherwise law-abiding young adults by
potentially forcing them to leave college for lack of financial
support is both unjust and illogical.

There are laws on the books to punish drug offenses. There is no
reason to use financial aid as one more "weapon" in the war against
drugs.