RAPE, ASSAULT ... AND MARIJUANA?

Our View: University policies that equate marijuana possession to
rape, assault and arson are absurd and should be changed.

Neither quietly nor timidly have advocates of loosening marijuana
penalties in on-campus residences lobbied for their cause the past
several years, bringing a politically divisive issue to the mainstream
and uniting the student body against what are still enormous odds. We
hope the SGA votes to symbolically support reducing marijuana
penalties in a vote tonight, but no matter the result, the issue will
be far from over.

The university has changed greatly since the days of free love and
students openly smoking marijuana on McKeldin Mall. Now, students
found in possession of marijuana in an on-campus residence are in an
A-level violation of Residence Hall rules. Essentially equating
marijuana possession with other A-level offenses such as arson,
assault and rape, it's a veritable given first-time offenders will
face suspension and expulsion from housing. Financial penalties, such
as the loss of financial aid, often follow.

Student lobbying has reasonably focused on not the legality of
marijuana, but on the fairness of punishment. It's difficult for us to
accept that a reasonable person would consider marijuana possession
morally and legally equivalent to maliciously setting a fire or
committing sexual assault. Groups such as Students for Sensible Drug
Policy and National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws are
lobbying for possession of small amounts of marijuana to be reduced to
a B-level offense, accompanied by far more proportionate
punishments.

We think it's important to note that the legal system considers rape
and assault to be felonies, and possession of small amounts of
marijuana to be a misdemeanor, at most. This is an absurd disconnect
between the norms of society as reflected in our legal system and
university policy.

A majority of students are in support - 65 percent of students voted
to loosen marijuana punishments in a non-binding referendum last year.
The RHA, after an initial failed attempt, voted recently in support of
reducing marijuana possession to a B-level offense. The SGA will
likely do the same tonight.

All eyes now turn to Resident Life. It's likely it will reject
attempts to reduce penalties - Director Deb Grandner has cited
increased crime as a possible consequence. But that's not what this
debate is about. Resident Life should not rationalize away reasons why
an injustice is being perpetuated and should instead correct it.
Marijuana possession is not rape, assault or arson, and the university
should no longer treat it as such.