DRUG POLICY DISCUSSED AT POLITICAL CONFERENCE

Students Travel To Question Candidates

Reveille file photo JOE DON'T KNOW: Joseph Lieberman was not found to be
very aware of a recent amendment which denies financial aid to students who
have been convicted of drug-related offenses.

Concerned with the harsh effects of the Higher Education Act on students'
scholarships, students from the LSU branch of Students for Sensible Drug
Policies joined other branches of the club at the New Hampshire Democratic
Conference Jan. 7 to 10.

The conference, part of the Democratic presidential primaries, included
debates in which candidates expressed their views on different issues. It
was held at the Holiday Inn and welcomed from around the country
organizations concerned with drug issues.

Nicole Roche, an LSU graduate, and Christy Zeringue, an English sophomore,
represented the LSU SSDP organization at the conference.

Roche and Zeringue were originally affiliated with Canola, the University
student organization committed to raising awareness of the benefits of
marijuana for medical purposes and advocating the industrial uses of hemp.
But they soon joined SSDP after it came to LSU's campus three years ago.

Roche, SSDP's official photographer for the 2004 conference, went to the
first annual SSDP conference in Washington, D.C. in 1999.

The conference concentrated on the Higher Education Act, passed in 1968,
which provides financial aid for low- and middle-income students in good
academic standing to help them afford college.

In 1998, legislators amended the HEA with a clause excluding students with
drug convictions from receiving financial aid.

Students must answer Question 31 on the Federal Application for Student
Aid, which asks "Have you ever been convicted of selling or possessing
drugs?" Conceding to a drug conviction on the FAFSA, or refusing to answer
this question could cause the student to lose eligibility for collegiate
scholarships.

"It doesn't matter what type of drug charge it is, the student still loses
his or her financial aid," said Roche, a past president of SSDP.

According to the Department of Education, more than 128,000 have been
denied or delayed financial aid for college since the 1998 amendment was
enacted.

Democratic hopefuls Gen. Wesley Clark, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean,
North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt,
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Connecticut Sen.
Joe Lieberman, and American Ambassador to New Zealand, Samoa, the Cook
Islands and Antarctica Carol Moseley Braun attended the conference.

Rev. Al Sharpton was scheduled to attend, but canceled.

University students were able to discuss their issues with the candidates
in debates with each. Candidates took the opportunity to address the HEA
issue and other issues such as healthcare and the economy.

Before the conference began, SSDP distributed a pamphlet that analyzed each
candidate's stances on various drug issues, including citizens' rights
regarding drug investigation and the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

With this information, students had the opportunity to ask the candidates
informed questions about the future of America's drug policies.

Both Roche and Zeringue agreed that Rep. Kucinich, who indicated his
support for the complete repeal of the HEA Drug Provision, had the most
liberal view of the subject.

Kucinich said drugs are "something about our culture for which people seek
an escape" and should be treated as a health concern. He favored funding
rehabilitation clinics instead of incarcerating offenders.

Kucinich said he had never experimented with illegal drugs and his first
step as president would be to legalize marijuana.

Dean also was in favor of repealing the provision.

Roche said Lieberman and Kerry were not very aware of the act. Kerry said
that he was in favor of repealing the act for students charged with use of
an illegal drug, but not for distribution of a drug.

Speaker Jack Cole expressed his opposition to intensive searches of
narcotics suspects' property.

Cole, a former undercover narcotics officer with the New Jersey State
Police, spoke of the consequences of violent searches. He cited one case,
where supposedly an elderly man died of a heart attack when police entered
the wrong house, said Zeringue.

Cole said one consequence of the prohibition of marijuana and other drugs
is that it is easier to buy illegal drugs than cigarettes or alcohol in
American schools.

Cole spoke of the international trade in illicit drugs. In 1998, prominent
scholars reportedly stated that the annual revenue generated by the illegal
drug industry was equivalent to $400 million, eight percent of all
international trade.

"Stop digging the hole; it will only get deeper," said Cole, in reference
to incarcerating nonviolent offenders with drug charges.

One informational session encouraged SSDP members to emphasize the drug
issues by lobbying congressmen with letters, setting up meetings with
senators and writing letters to the editor, the most widely-read part of
the newspaper.

"Overall, I thought the conference was a great learning experience," said
Zeringue. "It gave me better insight into caucuses and debates and a
different view on what Americans think about the drug issues."