Pubdate: Thu, 16 Oct 2003
Source: Badger Herald (Edu, Madison,  WI)
Copyright: 2003 Badger Herald
Contact:  http://www.mapinc.org/media/711
Website: http://www.badgerherald.com/
Author:  John Buchel, News Content Editor
Cited: University of Wisconsin, Madison, SSDP http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~ssdp/

DRUGS THRIVING IN MADISON

Despite a federal crackdown and an increase in the tenacity of
anti-drug laws, some students believe there has not been a noticeable
decrease in the amount of drugs dealt on the University of Wisconsin
campus.

"I don't think much has changed in the last few years," said Aaron
Monroe of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.

Monroe's group advocates against a stipulation that was added to the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid that restricts students with
prior drug convictions from receiving financial assistance for college.

Students for a Sensible Drug Policy were among other groups who
marched to the State Capitol Oct. 4 as part of Harvest Fest, an annual
gathering of marijuana-rights activists.

"Madison police are fairly relaxed on the matter," Monroe said. At
similar events across the country, area police are known to arrest
more than 100 people for smoking marijuana. Monroe said Madison's
police force took an atypically relaxed attitude to the event, at
which activists smoked marijuana in plain public view on Library Mall,
and on the parade down State Street to the Capitol.

"As far as I know there were no arrests," Monroe said.

However, Oct. 5, UW students Aaron Sayad and Eric Sheinkop were among
five men arrested in Chicago after police officers discovered 170 lbs.
of marijuana plants in their apartment. The students will face their
first court hearing Nov. 5 for possessing the confiscated cannabis,
which had an estimated street value of $462,000.

In addition, Oct. 1, seven people were arrested in Milwaukee in the
largest cocaine bust ever in Wisconsin. The Department of Justice's
Division of Criminal Investigation uncovered 52 kilograms of cocaine,
bringing to a close a long-running investigation. The estimated worth
of the seized drugs was $10 million.

UW junior Britta Spunkard said many students smoke marijuana on a
regular basis and even sell the drug without serious repercussions.

"As far as the war on drugs goes, it really depends what kind of
people we're talking about," Spunkard said, indicating prosecutors and
investigators rarely target the typical college student.

Spunkard said some students who have been arrested for drug possession
have hard times after the current law removed their eligibility for
student loans.

"What we see a problem with is students who go to school on loans and
maybe party a lot their freshman year and then get a misdemeanor
possession of marijuana and get their loans taken away," Spunkard said.

Spunkard said some UW students are definitely consuming harder drugs,
but the problem of addiction was a matter of perspective, because many
students who smoke marijuana everyday have perfect grades.

In February of 2000, the largest known seizure of drugs in Dane County
took place when police executed a search warrant at a storage room
near the UW campus. Investigators found 10 pounds of marijuana and
five pounds of Psilocybin mushrooms, worth approximately $70,000,
which they suspected had been being dealt among students.
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