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Marijuana rolls onto ASUW ballot
05-08-07|The Daily Washington

For those who have not yet voted in this year’s ASUW election, one ballot question may come as a surprise.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws/Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (NORML/SSDP), which recently became a Registered Student Organization, has begun its campaign to educate students and faculty. Group members said they hope to spark campus dialogue regarding the use and possession of marijuana by asking students to answer a yes-or-no question before submitting their votes for the ASUW officers.

The non-binding survey question asks, “Do you agree that the University of Washington penalties for the use and possession of marijuana should be NO greater than those imposed for use and possession of alcohol?” A disclaimer ensures the question is asked only to gain a sense of how students view the subject.

In addition to the ballot survey question, the ASUW Senate is debating a similar non-binding resolution.

“If everyone gets out and votes, I believe the ballot will pass,” said junior Tim Kelly, NORML/SSDP president. “The Senate is more hesitant because they are representing a lot of different people, so they may not be as inclined to speak for others on the issue.”

Sophomore Jaclyn Kaul, vice president of NORML/SSDP, concurred.

“I feel very confident in the survey question,” she said. “We have talked with a lot of people, and they agree with us; even people who do not smoke believe the rules are unfair. One of the biggest things we need to do is get the faculty behind us; they are strong allies.”

If the ASUW election and senate resolution votes pass, NORML/SSDP hopes to bring these statistics to the administration next year in an effort to change campus policy.

“The Housing and Food Services (HFS) rules are all very circumstantial,” Kelly said. “While campus policy is not that strict, there is a high level of police discretion and interpretation.”

Many private universities maintain more tolerant rules regarding drugs.

“Compared to other schools, the Ivy League schools have the most liberal drug policies because they don’t want anyone to drop out or be kicked out of school, because graduation rates and retention rates decline,” Kelly said.

The group has been tabling in front of the HUB to recruit new members and ask students to send e-mails to Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which is deciding whether to repeal a law in the Higher Education Act that revokes financial aid of college students with drug convictions.

The group hopes to show a strong endorsement from college students to convince Murray to vote for the repealing of this law. Almost 200,000 college students with drug convictions have lost their financial aid, according to the NORML/SSDP.

“It is ridiculous that convicted rapists are still able to receive financial aid while students with drug convictions are singled out,” Kelly said.

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