EXPERTS ADVISE ON DRUG POLICY

When in doubt, keep your mouth shut.

This was the main theme at a Wednesday event sponsored by the UW-Madison
Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a group seeking to inform students about
problems with American drug policies. At the forum, a local lawyer educated
students on the legality of police drug searches, while a representative
from a civil liberties group explained how students could retain their
rights during those searches.

David Ham, a criminal defense lawyer who graduated from UW-Madison's law
school in 1994, emphasized the dangers of the Higher Education Act to
students. A 1998 amendment to the act stipulates that college students who
reveal drug convictions on financial aid forms can lose their federal aid.

"It takes away student rights in terms of student aid ... It basically
means you can't go to school," Ham said.

He added that the law illustrates a disturbing legal trend since the war on
terror began.

"Nine-Eleven and the PATRIOT Act have changed everything," he said. "What
we're going to see in the future are a lot more searches and a lot more
arrests. It's much easier to pass laws that contract people's rights."

In light of stricter drug policies, Steven Silverman, executive director of
the civil liberties organization Flex Your Rights, said students must
vigilantly guard their rights during drug-related police encounters.

"Almost everyone I know who's been busted for pot possession waived their
legal rights," Silverman said. "This is how most people are inclined to
behave-to cooperate."

Rather than complying when police request to search students' cars, homes
or persons for drugs, Silverman said they should actively assert their
right to refuse. He said students often do not realize police cannot
conduct warrantless searches without consent and gave advice for behavior
during police encounters.

"Keep your private items private and out of view ... be courteous and
nonconfrontational ... and say, 'Officer, I have nothing to say until I
speak with my lawyer,'" he said. "Often times, the less you do, the better
off you are."

Silverman also gave advice to students confronted with police knocking on
their dorm room doors.

"If you're in the dorm and doing something you shouldn't be doing ... don't
let them in, don't say anything," he said.

According to UW-Madison senior and SSDP representative Britta Stunkard,
this advice has proven helpful to students since the first drug policy
forum last year.

"I've run into people at parties who say, 'Hey, the info you gave us was
really helpful,'" she said. "It's become more important lately to know what
your rights are."