| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Torkel
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 1396
Location: West Virginia, USA
|
 Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2005 3:34 pm Post subject: Drug use shouldn't block college |
 |
|
| Quote: |
Drug use shouldn't block college
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/v...02kiddrug.shtml
MAINE VOICES: Andrew Bossie
Drug use shouldn't block college
Over the past seven years, more than 160,000 would-be college students have had the doors to education slammed shut in their faces.
Our federal lawmakers, including Maine's Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, hold in their hands the key to unlocking those doors for thousands of Mainers. Students around the state need them to act swiftly.
The problem stems from a little-known 1998 amendment to the federal Higher Education Act that suspends financial aid eligibility to students with any drug convictions, including misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
While the provision was apparently intended to discourage drug abuse, it's hard to imagine how pulling students out of school is supposed to keep them away from drugs and out of the criminal justice system.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that receiving at least two years of higher education reduces the likelihood of repeat offenses from a national rate of 60 percent to only 10 percent.
It is simply counterproductive to throw at-risk young people out of school, where they will be much more likely to break the law again and continue to drain our law enforcement resources.
But perhaps even worse than the increase in crime provoked by this law is the decrease in societal productivity it causes. We know from 2000 Census data that, on average, college graduates earn $19,100 more per year than those with only a high school diploma.
Multiply that difference by the 160,586 students declared ineligible for aid under this policy, and we see the devastating $3.1 billion earnings loss our economy incurs every year as a consequence of this law.
There are numerous other problems with the law. For example, students affected by the provision have already been punished through the criminal justice system. Universities also generally discipline or expel students who break campus drug policies.
Do we now want to ensure that they can't reform themselves by stripping them of access to education altogether? Are we moving toward a one-strike-and-three-outs policy? What has happened to our ability to forgive and grant a second chance?
Furthermore, since there are already minimum GPA requirements for receiving financial aid, the drug provision only affects students who are doing well in school.
And, because of racial profiling and the discriminatory enforcement of drug laws, minorities are being kept out of school at a higher rate than the general population. The law further perpetuates societal problems such as discrimination and poverty, particularly among minorities.
In January, the congressionally appointed Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance recommended that Congress remove the drug question from the financial aid application, calling it "irrelevant" to aid eligibility.
To that end, the Removing Impediments to Students' Education Act was introduced in the U.S. House in March and now has 67 co-sponsors. If passed, the RISE Act will repeal the drug provision and reinstate financial aid to students trying to turn their lives around.
But no companion bill has yet been introduced in the U.S. Senate. By introducing a version of the RISE Act in the Senate, Sens. Collins and Snowe could help students rise above their past legal troubles and put their lives back on track.
- Special to the Press Herald |
Peace,
Torkel
_________________
Miller vs U.S. (230 F 2nd 486,489): "The claim and exercise of a Constitutional right cannot be converted into a crime."
Miranda vs Arizona (384 U.S. 436, 125): "Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule-making or legislation which would abrogate them."
HAGANS vs LAVINE (415 US 533 N-3,note 5): "Once JURISDICTION is challenged it must be proven by the Plaintiff." |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Echo
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
Posts: 1899
Location: England
|
| Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2005 6:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
If people are denied continuing education because of use of cannabis, how is it that a person can become the president of the United States with a history of binge drinking and coke use?
It doesn't make sense to me.
I believe strongly that education is for life and should not be denied to anyone, regardless to their "offences", even real ones. Let alone cannabis use that is NOT an offence in itself. Its prohibition is a fault in the law.
This is an example of OPPRESSION on INNOCENT people. It's a lot better for the government if smokers to not learn too much. Who knows, some of them could actually gain enough power from their knowledge and fix that fault in the law.
_________________
| Tom Petty wrote: |
Well I know what’s right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around
But I’ll stand my ground and I won’t back down
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
Public Forum
Members only forum
Members Group
| 
