cannabisnews.com: No Loans for Student Drug Offenders No Loans for Student Drug Offenders Posted by FoM on October 25, 1999 at 20:02:25 PT By The Associated Press Source: New York Times Students convicted of drug offenses -- especially for the sale of drugs -- will lose eligibility for federal college tuition aid programs, including Pell Grants and student loans, under new Education Department regulations. Penalties under the rules that take effect July 1 will range from a yearlong suspension to permanent denial of financial aid, according to the regulations -- released Friday -- that are based on a law passed last year. Students must report their pasts on federal financial aid forms. ``We are very concerned about students being truthful about all aspects of the financial aid application,'' said D. Jean Veta, the Education Department's deputy general counsel. ``There is no database (of drug convictions) that we can check. On the other hand, if we find out a student has lied, we not only require repayment of any aid received, but the student would be at risk for prosecution for lying to the federal government.'' The rule will not apply to juvenile records or proceedings. A recent survey indicated that drug use among young adults aged 18 to 25 has risen in the last five years, with 16.1 percent, or 4.5 million, saying they were current users of an illegal drug, meaning they had used such a drug in the month before they were surveyed. Veta had no estimate for how many students the regulations could affect. The rules are based on provisions in a higher education law -- passed amid partisan debate -- intended to reduce waste in the federal student loan system. Repercussions will be worse for drug sellers than for those who merely possessed them. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. -- who unsuccessfully sought to limit the legislation -- said such provisions could unfairly affect some young people who had sold drugs because they had or felt they had few options. ``Obviously if someone is a drug dealer or a serious user, that is a reason to say no,'' Frank said Monday. ``This kind of blanket ban is a mistake.'' Students say the rules set a bad precedent of what information can be sought and used against them. ``It's kind of backward to deal with a drug policy by denying people an education,'' said Jamie Pueschel, a 1998 college graduate who is now legislative director of the Washington-based United States Student Association. Under the rules, a first possession conviction will block aid for a year, while a sales conviction will bar aid for two years. Students convicted of possessing drugs for a second time will lose aid for two years; a third time, forever. A student convicted twice of selling drugs will lose aid forever. Some student offenders will be able to keep or regain eligibility by completing drug rehabilitation or receiving reversed or set-aside convictions. Colleges won't have to police their students. Instead, students will be asked to report their own criminal records on aid forms subject to review by federal officials. Students must complete forms in each year of eligibility with other self-reported information such as income and academic status, Veta said. Convictions occurring after students apply for aid but before July 1 may affect their eligibility. For example, a first drug-possession conviction Feb. 1 would make a student ineligible for aid from July 1 until Feb. 1, 2001. At the same time, a student about to lose aid could finish a drug-rehabilitation program before July 1. ``We certainly hope that any student otherwise affected by this provision will enter an appropriate rehabilitation program,'' Veta said. ``We continue to believe that getting an education may be the best way to get people off drugs.'' October 25, 1999Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company Related Articles & Web Site:Students For Sensible Drug Policyhttp://www.ssdp.org/Column: New Financial Aid Policy an Injustice - 10/24/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3399.shtmlColumn: A More Sensible Drug Policy - 10/06/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3162.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by sharon Edwards on May 15, 2001 at 20:11:34 PT: students and pot this is a law aimed to hurt those students who are the ones that need to be in college the most low income or minory students.Pot is safer than any over the counter medicine you can take.if you campare dinking and college students/ to those who use pot only which will affect you most, what kind of inpact on you will each have , how many deaths of college students in the US are there on pot on alchol. come on get real if you really knew how many up standing citizens who smoke pot you would be surprised it is the cop down the street, the housewife or the teacher in the local school. this law is a joke and it is not a good law to have why pentilize those who are working at being better people through education it no wonder the US has so much violence and un-rest which begins at a youner age each year its laws like these that do not help anyone. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by robin on January 10, 2000 at 10:52:00 PT govermentstupidity First they give you a record, huge financial penalties, take away your drivers license, rendering it almost impossible to work. O.k. a positive alternative is school, live on campus and go on with your life. But wait, unlike rapists, murderers,commiting deadly assault, etc. you will now lose your financial aid. If you get drunk and kill someone on the road you still get punished once and you can go back to school. Of couse none of the above compares to the possesion of a couple of joints in your pocket. It's truly scarey to see the absolute stupidity of those running our goverment. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Jeaneous on October 26, 1999 at 17:05:37 PT: Yeah Right That's it... start taking the kids future away before they ever get a start. That's the solution. We sure don't want to give them a second chance... my goodness they are hardened criminals.Discusting.... I can not understand the thinking behind these damn laws this government keeps inventing. They say our children are our future, yet they are willing to kill their future. I sure hope the represensatives that are voting for these laws are being watched by their constituents and are not re-elected to their office. They are killing the future of this country. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Alexandre Oeming on October 26, 1999 at 13:58:29 PT: re: More BS Simple. It's the sheep following orders to believe that all people that use illicit substances are subhuman. Once you have that stigma attached to the people in question, they cease to be human and it's all downhill from there.The best way to stop this madness would be to outlaw tobacco, or even better ... alcohol. Prohibition wouldn't last a week when the sheep see it affecting their own little, pathetic lives. It's just too easy to ignore the "scum" when their troubles don't affect you. It's enough to make me want to retch. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Chris Knestrick on October 26, 1999 at 06:20:30 PT: HEA Here at Virginia Tech, we attempted to pass a resolution in the student government to state our opposition to the HEA. It passed the senate, but the house voted it down. Normal, ignorant reasons - "I don't want my tax money going to someone who would use it for drugs." I guess they would rather have it used for alcohol. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Scott on October 26, 1999 at 04:08:14 PT: More BS >``There is no database (of drug convictions) that we can >check. On the other hand, if we find out a student has >lied, we not only require repayment>of any aid received, but the student would be at risk for >prosecution for lying to the federal government.'' So the public can't lie to the federal government but the federal government can lie to the people? Now the government is doing what they can to deny education to people just because they chose to intoxicate themselves with a substance other then alcohol. Where is the outrage?Scott [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: