POT ADVOCATES CELEBRATE 4/20

C.U. Discusses 'War on Drugs'

While it may seem like any other Friday to some, to others, today --
4/20 -- is a day that couldn't have come soon enough.

"Yeah, I'm definitely going to roll a fatty and smoke a doobie," said
one Cornell student, gearing up for today -- a day on which many
Cornell students will smoke cannibis, marijuana, weed, pot, grass,
Mary Jane or ganga -- however you choose to refer to it.

April 20, which some consider to be a holiday, marks a day on which
many students will light up and get high, although some students are
not really sure why.

"I think it has to do with the number of leaves on the plant, that's
what someone told me," said one student who plans to "light up in the
even-ing, because I have to work tomorrow afternoon."

According to Steven Hager, editor in chief of The High Times, who
spoke to ABC News in a "potcast," 4/20 has been used as a way for
marijuana smokers to communicate.

Hager also said that marijuana smokers are a "minority that suffers
persecution."

According to Hager, 4/20 originated in Southern California in 1971
when several students at San Rafeal High School, not far from the
Grateful Dead headquarters, began smoking marijuana at approximately
4:20 p.m. regularly after school.

Hager further said in the "potcast" that 4/20 is a national holiday
for this counter culture of the 1960s and that this counter culture
"has a sacrament, and that sacrament is cannibus."

While many students may plan to smoke today, they may also have to
plan for the consequences of smoking marijuana, which is illegal. Not
only could potential celebrants be arrested, but they may also face
financial hardships.

The Drug Provision, also referred to as the aid elimination penalty,
was added as an amendment to the Higher Education Act in 1998. The
provision denies federal aid to students convicted of drug-related
crimes.

According to Students for Sensible Drug Policy, since the aid
elimination penalty was added in 1998, nearly 200,000 aspiring
students have been blocked access to aid. SSDP maintains that many of
these students were convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana.

According to Daniel Chisena '07, president of the Cornell chapter of
SSDP, "SSDP does not encourage drug use, especially drug abuse, but
does not condemn it either." Chisena believes that the War on Drugs is
actually a "war on Americans," and that a revised drug policy would
prevent students from using drugs rather than simply imposing
penalties on them.

Although Hager is encouraging 4/20 marijuana smokers to consider peace
as their motivation for smoking today, it may not be on the minds of
all Cornell students.

When asked yesterday why she was planning to smoke today, said one
Cornell student "Um, because I don't have class tomorrow."