NC: Community unconvinced of drug law effectiveness

[newgrowerNY]

Community unconvinced of drug law effectiveness
11-14-06|The Appalachian Online

The Higher Education Act Aid Elimination Penalty passed into law to discourage students from getting high, but critics say it discourages education.

Due to the HEA, one convicted possession of a controlled substance, which can include a small amount of marijuana, makes a student ineligible for federal financial aid for one year.

Rep. Mike Souder (R-Ind.), a congress HEA promoter, introduced the aid elimination penalty because he wants to prevent federal money from being spent purchasing drugs, Kris Krane, executive director of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy in Washington, D.C., said.

Souder believes students using drugs cannot learn properly, he said.

Politicians are hard on drug crimes, Assistant University Attorney David Larry said, because on the flipside they seem pro-drug.

Members of the Appalachian State University campus seem to be primarily baffled by the law or are ardently against it.

University Attorney Dayton T. Cole said the HEA is a “peculiar federal statute,” because with financial aid withdrawal, there is no mention of violent crimes such as rape that are far more harmful to society than marijuana convictions.

Police Chief Gunther E. Doerr said he understands enforcement of the HEA punishment if there is “some kid dealing drugs on a college campus and drawing financial aid.”

However, he said he is unsure of the HEA’s effectiveness and believes it adds little to campus safety.
“I don’t think students using drugs should use federal money to do it. In that vein, the law is fair,” Financial Aid Director Esther Manogin said.

The biggest problem Manogin sees with the law is the “regulatory problem it puts on the financial aid office,” she said.

Office of Student Conduct Director Judy M. Haas sees the HEA from two sides. Haas said the law does seem unfair because it targets low-income populations.

However, it is fair that there is a way to show rehab and get aid back, she said.

A student can resume aid eligibility sooner if they complete drug rehabilitation and drug tests, according to the law.

The Appalachian chapters of Help End Marijuana Prohibition/National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws are dedicated supporters of HEA reform.

Appalachian HEMP/NORML President Josh C. Kleinstreuer said he sends letters to government representatives to help repeal the “hypocritical legislation.”

One of the government’s missions is to move people from an illegal market into mainstream society, Kleinstreuer said.

“If the government denies a student aid to get back into a legal lifestyle then what choice does he or she have then to resort back to the underground life they have been living?” he said.

The law hits close to home for Kleinstreuer. He was convicted for marijuana possession in 2001.

“Had I not had the financial stability to pay for college, I would not be the successful student I am today,” he said.

Student Government Association President Forrest S. Gilliam said, “[The HEA] ends up being discriminatory, but I see the interest the government has, like a parent has, in money they’re spending on students.”

However, he said, “one marijuana offense doesn’t mean you’re a pothead … politicians can’t measure someone’s performance or value from one offense.”

Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, an international organization concerned with drug policy, works to repeal the aid elimination.

A class action lawsuit to erase the aid penalty, filed by the SSDP, was dismissed by the Bush administration last month.

SSDP will continue to fight and weigh legal options to get the Removing Impediments to Student’s Education Act, a bill to fully repeal the aid penalty, sponsored by Congress, Krane said.

“This is a law that solely impacts students from low-to-middle-income families,” Krane said.

If a non-financial aid receiving student is convicted for drugs, they get a court punishment, but there is no impact on their education, he said.

Students most at risk for drug problems should get a college degree to ensure their economic improvement and success, Krane said.

“A person with a college degree will be far less likely to go on to abuse drugs in the future,” he said.

Lisa A. Curtin, psychology professor and researcher of substance abuse, said it is better to assess problems before recommending interventions.

A false assumption is that a person who has used marijuana is a chronic user, Curtin said.

She said, however, that substance use directly correlates with lower grade point averages.

“Problematic use can affect education, but one time users can learn,” Curtin said. “Not everyone using has a problem.”

[reggie_the_dog]

most of this article is crap, like this choice gem

"
“A person with a college degree will be far less likely to go on to abuse drugs in the future,” he said."

Why would someone arguing AGAINST taking away people's aid after a drug conviction and say this. Why not just be honest and say that people can "abuse" cannabis, get a BA, an MA, or a PHD, and a job, have a family etc.


also another remark was made by another person who is FOR banning aid

"A false assumption is that a person who has used marijuana is a chronic user, Curtin said.

She said, however, that substance use directly correlates with lower grade point averages.

“Problematic use can affect education, but one time users can learn,” Curtin said. “Not everyone using has a problem.”"


Ok, so their is a co-relation, this offers no evidence that cannabis use, or "abuse" as they would probably term my 4 or 5 time a day, 6 day a week hashish habit is CAUSATION for the lower grade point average. Perhaps students with a lower GPA get depressed or anxious and turn to drugs...;


And what is this statement "one time users can learn" this implies that heavy users like myself cannot learn. We can, I have an MA in the teaching of history, a teaching certificate from the government of my former state in the USA (I am a high school teacher there), have lived in France and studied french for the last 3 years, have taught at a university and currently teach at a law school, I also am a lauguage assistant at a high school (the teens need to learn english as a second language over here) and have given english courses for private companies. I am married and looking to buy a house. I started drinking alcohol 15 years ago, used it heavily 13 to 11 years ago, I have not drank a single drop of alcohol in over 6 years. I used tobacco 13 years ago to 9 years ago. I started using cannabis 13 years ago and have been a heavy user for the last 11 years.

I am still in my 20's I started using when I was 14. Where did my cannabis use "hold me back"????