DRUG-WAR HYPOCRISY TARGETS STUDENTS

The University of Rhode Island's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug
Policy is to be commended for taking a stand against the Higher Education
Act's denial of student loans to youth convicted of drug offenses.

Anyone born into a wealthy family need not fear the law. But with at-risk
students, instead of empowering them with a college degree, the law limits
their career opportunities and thus increases the likelihood that they will
resort to crime. (Speaking of crime, convicted rapists and murderers are
eligible for federal student loans.)

The hypocrisy of the drug war is glaring. Alcohol overdoses kill more
Americans each year than all illegal drugs combined. Tobacco is by far the
deadliest drug overall, and arguably the most addictive.

The drug war is in large part a war on marijuana, which is by far the most
popular illicit drug. The country's first marijuana laws were enacted in
response to Mexican immigration in the early 1900s -- despite opposition
from the American Medical Association. Non-Hispanic white Americans did not
even begin to smoke marijuana until the government started funding "reefer
madness" propaganda. Yet the direct experience of millions of Americans
contradicts the sensationalism used to justify marijuana prohibition.

It's not health concerns that determine the drug laws, but, rather,
cultural norms. And America's marijuana laws are based on xenophobia -- not
science.

ROBERT SHARPE

Washington