WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR 64,000 STUDENTS LOSING AN EDUCATION?

When students from Indiana and surrounding states debated
Representative Mark Souder outside his "financial aid forum" last
month about his law that has fully or partially denied financial aid
to 64,000 students, the congressman descended almost immediately into
name calling of our organization. Now it's no surprise that Joyce
Nalepka, in her March 22, 2002 op-ed, entitled: "Applaud Souder's
Efforts To Fight Illegal Drug Use," accuses Students for Sensible Drug
Policy of being a "militant fringe of the drug legalization movement."

These words are the typical blather of drug warriors who can't defend
their punitive approach to what is essentially a public health problem.

As national director of SSDP let me set the record straight about what
our organization stands for. In 1998, students on five campuses
formed chapters of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. These chapters
met and decided to launch a campaign to restore financial aid to
students who lost it because of Rep. Mark Souder's law. I formed the
second chapter of SSDP at The George Washington University during the
same year. Today SSDP has chapters on over 200 campuses, mainly due
to student alarm over Souder's law.

SSDP believes that drugs and drug policy are perhaps the biggest
social problem facing our country. America has nearly 500,000
non-violent drug offenders in prison and African Americans make up 13%
of the population, 13% of drug users, but 55% of those people
convicted of drug crimes. Many judges and veteran law enforcement
officials had declared they are fighting an un-winnable battle when
drugs cannot even be kept out of our prisons, let alone off of our
borders. What have we gained from the current approach: not a single
drug-free high school. Purer drugs. More drugs. And billions of tax
dollars wasted.

Along with millions of Americans, SSDP has come to the obvious
conclusion, one that former Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey came to as well,
that drug abuse is a public health issue. Our policy makers have
tried the militant approaches to drug use that people like Rep. Mark
Souder support, to no avail and that is why students came to Fort
Wayne from hundreds of miles to say we have had enough.

The Higher Education Act Drug Provision is one of the best examples of
the drug war run amuck at the expense of helping people improve there
lives and, yes, get off drugs. With 20/20 hindsight it is obvious the
HEA drug provision has gone too far, but Congressman Souder continues
to deny it's his fault. He is a man who is blaming everyone but
himself for a bad law he wrote. Souder blamed the Clinton
administration in 2000 for not enforcing his law strictly enough. Now
he is blaming the Bush administration for enforcing it too strictly.
To the 64,000 students who have been told there is no money for
college, none of this political finger pointing really matters.

Please do not believe Ms. Nalepka's lies; she has never phoned our
office, nor has she even written us a letter, yet she claims to know
so much about our organization. Reputable conservatives such as
William F. Buckley have commended SSDP's efforts to bring about an
open, honest, debate of our nation's drug policies. Republican
Governor Gary Johnson sits on our Board of Advisors.

We at SSDP like a good debate, and welcome it, but Ms. Nalepka failed
to respect the voices of the fastest growing student movement on
campus when she wrote her op-ed, rather than attempting an
intelligent, professional, discourse, which we would have welcomed.
To accuse SSDP of militancy is an absurd accusation, especially coming
from an individual who supports the most militant approach to drugs.
We are the ones saying put down the guns, and please stop pointing
them at our youth. So, you tell me, who are the militants? Visit our
website as ssdp.org, read our materials, and join us in saying "No" to
the tired, old drug warrior rhetoric and "Yes" to what makes sense:
public health officials dealing with public health issues.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy is made up of students who are
sincere young people with the purpose of moving our focus away from
draconian approaches and towards more a human, common sense drug policy.