cannabisnews.com: Loss of Federal Education Aid Draws Opposition Loss of Federal Education Aid Draws Opposition Posted by FoM on May 29, 2001 at 11:07:34 PT By Diane Carroll - The Kansas City Star Source: Kansas City Star When a Kansas State University sophomore went to court in December for smoking marijuana, she was worried not only about what the judge would say but also about what the U.S. Department of Education would do. The woman, a passenger in a car stopped by police, knew about a new law that says students convicted of a drug offense will be denied federal financial aid. She and her friend had less than an ounce of marijuana between them, and she had never been charged with a crime before. Now she was in jeopardy of losing her tuition aid. Without it, she said, she would have been forced to drop out. "It was terrifying for me because I've never even had a speeding ticket," said the 20-year-old, who asked for anonymity so that her parents and others would not learn what happened. "I'm pretty much a good kid." She avoided a conviction by paying a $350 fine and agreeing to supervisory probation. Now she counts herself among those across the country who are pushing for repeal of the financial aid law. The law, which applies to misdemeanor or felony convictions of state or federal drug laws, is being enforced fully for the first time this year under the Bush administration. Previously, applicants who left the drug question blank on their application still could receive aid, but that changed this year. Last year, out of nearly 10 million applicants, 9,200 lost all or part of their financial aid because of the law. National organizations that oppose the law predict that the number will rise to 60,000 for the coming academic year. "We don't feel there should be this second punishment that applies only to illegal drug users and no other criminals," said David Borden, executive director of the Drug Reform Coordination Network, a national organization working to overturn the law. More important, he said: Why should anyone be discouraged from getting a college education after paying for their crimes in a court of law? The law is unfairly aimed at the poor and the working class, he said, and racial profiling leads to higher conviction rates for minorities. Student governments at more than 60 universities, including the University of Missouri-Columbia, have called for repeal. Justin Mills, the incoming student president at the University of Kansas, said he was thinking about pushing for a repeal resolution next fall. Students at K-State said such a resolution was a long-term goal. "I couldn't believe that the government was doing this," said K-State student Katherine Dinkel, a junior who this semester helped organize a chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, another national group fighting the law. "I'd rather go to school with someone who's smoking a joint than walk down a hallway with a rapist." The law, which took effect last July, was approved in 1998 as an amendment to the Higher Education Act. Rep. Mark Souder, an Indiana Republican, offered the amendment to hold accountable students who benefited from tax dollars, said Angela Flood, Souder's press secretary. "If you are asking for and receiving financial aid, then you have an obligation to maintain a certain standard of responsibility," Flood said. "If you are using and selling drugs, you are not making the best use of the opportunity you have been given." Statistics at the time showed that drug use among students was increasing, Flood said. Souder probably would be open to expanding the penalties to other crimes, she said. Flood said the law was affecting more applicants than intended because the Clinton administration had misinterpreted the law. Administration officials set it up to include applicants for aid, she said, but Souder intended it to apply only to students already receiving aid. She said her office was trying to work with the Bush administration to resolve that problem. Under the law, students who are convicted of possessing an illegal drug lose their loans, grants and work assistance for a year from the date of their conviction. A second conviction brings a two-year loss of aid; a third an indefinite loss. A person convicted of selling drugs for the first time loses aid for two years; a second such offense leads to an indefinite loss. Students can regain their eligibility by completing a drug rehabilitation program that includes at least two unannounced drug tests. Students who apply for federal aid must fill out a lengthy form. The drug issue is addressed in question 35, which asks whether the applicant has been convicted of a drug offense. Last year, 279,000 applicants who did not answer the question received aid anyway. This year Education Secretary Rod Paige and financial aid officers decided that those who refused to answer the question would not receive aid, said Lindsey Kozberg of the U.S. Department of Education. Of the 5 million applicants whose forms were processed from Jan. 1 through May 6, about 37,100 said they had had a conviction. Of those, 18,800 became eligible after completing a worksheet that determined eligibility, based on how long ago the crime occurred and whether the person had completed a rehabilitation program. An additional 6,700 are still being processed, and 11,600 were denied aid, Education Department statistics show. An additional 10,000 left the question blank. They will receive notices stating that the question must be answered before the application can be processed. About 5 million applications are yet to be processed for the 2001-2002 school year, officials estimated. Applications are checked against several databases for drug convictions. If any part of the application is falsified, the applicant can be prosecuted. Mark Bresnahan, student president at MU, said the student government had voted 24-14 in favor of a resolution urging repeal of the law, with five persons abstaining. "I could see arguments on both sides," said Bresnahan, who did not have a vote on the matter. Those who opposed repeal said students should not be wasting government money, he said. Students for Sensible Drug Policy has grown from two chapters two years ago to about 100, mostly because of growing opposition to the law, said Shawn Heller, the organization's national director. An additional 200 chapters are in the works, he said. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, has introduced legislation to repeal the law. Heller hopes it will pass next spring, when the Higher Education Act comes up for reauthorization, if not sooner. Heller's group is trying to raise $100,000 to provide financial assistance to students hurt by the law. It recently handed out its first award -- $600 -- to Kris Sperry, 23, of Mountain Home, Ark. Sperry said he had to drop out of Arkansas State University in January because his financial aid had been cut off. He had two misdemeanor convictions for possessing marijuana, he said. "I've paid for my crimes," Sperry said. "I've had my license taken; I've done community service. ... Now I feel like I am being penalized again." Heller said he found it extremely hypocritical that President Bush -- who refused to answer questions in the campaign about possible drug use in his past -- was making students answer questions about drug convictions. Bush likes to say that his education plan calls for leaving no child behind, Heller said. "Certainly a child trying to get his (college) education should not be left behind," he said. Complete Title: Drug Offenders' Loss of Federal Education Aid Draws OppositionTo reach Diane Carroll, higher education reporter e-mail to: dcarroll kcstar.comSource: Kansas City Star (MO)Author: Diane Carroll - The Kansas City StarPublished: May 28, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Kansas City StarContact: letters kcstar.comWebsite: http://www.kcstar.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Students for Sensible Drug Policy http://www.ssdp.org/ Drug Reform Coordination Networkhttp://www.drcnet.org/Students Shouldn't Have To Pay Twice http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9896.shtmlBush To Enforce Financial Aid Drug Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9393.shtmlLawmakers Take Stand Against Denying Financial Aidhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8859.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #9 posted by observer on May 30, 2001 at 08:59:48 PT The Nazi Comparison Hitler denied education to jews. The US denies education to cannabis consumers. . . You might want to read "Drug Warriors & Their PRey", a book that is devoted to exposing the parallels you mention. The law identifies drug users through their blood. Also through their excreta... All that matters is a person's blood and excreta. All that matters is the makeup of a person's physical body. Drug law does not care if an illicit user is a beloved schoolteacher who improves a community or a vicious psychopath who tortures victims to death. Criminality is determined solely by the offender's physical body. Drug law mimics Hitler. "Unlike other anti-Semites, Hitler made no distinction between German and foreign, rich and poor, liberal, conservative, socialist, or Zionist, religious or non-religious, baptised or unbaptised Jews. In his eyes there was only 'the Jew.' . . . 'The Jew' represented evil incarnate, performing for Hitler much the same function as the Devil does for many Christians."47The law does not care if tests used to detect illicit drug users fail to demonstrate that users are impaired. The law does not care if users behave in ordinary ways. A statute creating a status crime targets ordinary people. That is its purpose. If illicit drug users acted in ways that distinguished them from nonusers, a status crime statute would be unnecessary.Richard L Miller, Drug Warriors and their Prey, 1996, pg.9http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275950425 review: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/media/rlmiller.htm ''The Nazi Comparison'', Dr. John Beresford [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Rambler on May 30, 2001 at 01:06:48 PT Next When we see such a law as this,and we see things like the Texasjudge,who recently ordered sex offenders,who had already servedtheir time,required to post signs in their yards,and have bumperstickers identifying them as sex offenders;it wont be long beforesome deranged senator,czar,or congressperson comes up withsome sort of "registered drug offender" law.They will probablymake it a condition for getting into a "treatment" program,toavoid a prison sentence.Would this suprise us? [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by New Mexican on May 29, 2001 at 22:16:02 PT Don't be too DEPRESSED! Loved your comparisons Depressed, but if your name is a statement of how you feel, let me give you hope! Nazi Germany was only 50 years ago, but was really just the culmination of a series of badly constructed thoughts of a venereal disease untreated. If he had cannibis, who knows? Could've saved a few million lives perhaps? Just think of how many cannabis smokers wouldn't of tried it if it wasn'tPROhibited (inhibitions favored). Now, due to prohibition, everybody and their GRANDmother smoke the herb. As it will become legal, the truth will be out and well known folklore to the masses who will govern from these experiences and not be as influenced by vested financial interests. There will be a bright side of this very dark cloud we live under. That's what we have a future for. Cheers! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by The GCW on May 29, 2001 at 20:54:25 PT Hitler? That reminds me, we have not been seeing much news lately of SWAT troops making mistakes and killing blatently harmless citizens. I would like that to continue.When the SWAT teams kill the innocent and harmless to aquire their cannabis, they combine the SWAT w/ swatstika tactics and thus we have,SWATSTIKA, The American virsion.If that menace flares up again, we might all consider making this a household word to help rid us of that type of Gov. law.Is Bush part of the SWATSTIKA? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by The GCW on May 29, 2001 at 20:46:45 PT ???? Is Rep. Mark Souder, an Indiana Republican, a menace? [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Depressed on May 29, 2001 at 20:14:52 PT Can I ever not live in fear? Hitler denied education to jews.The US denies education to cannabis consumers.Hitler denied jobs to the jews.The US uses corporations and "Drug Tests" to deny jobs to cannabis consumers.Hitler imprisoned jews, taking freedom away.The US imprisons cannabis consumers, taking their freedom away.Hitler killed jews.The US might not be doing that yet, but a number of people have supported it. I'm scared. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Pontifex on May 29, 2001 at 13:07:28 PT: Just Say Blow = useful website I urge everyone to check out "justsayblow.com", offered by Helpful.As an honors graduate who would have lost financial aid under Bush's new interpretation of the rules, this issue hits very close to home. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Pontifex on May 29, 2001 at 12:32:54 PT: If implications were explicit "If you are asking for and receiving financial aid, then you have an obligation to maintain a certain standard of responsibility," Flood said. "If you are using and selling drugs, you are not making the best use of the opportunity you have been given." "But those of you who steal and rape," added Flood, "are doing your best to improve your circumstances. We applaud your initiative, and that's why rape, theft, and other youthful excesses won't disqualify you from receiving financial aid.""It's the pot smokers, the real threat to public safety, who must be denied education," Flood explained. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Helpful on May 29, 2001 at 12:30:29 PT: justsayblow This is a website that needs your support.www.justsayblow.com http://justsayblow.com [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: