Pubdate: Fri, 09 Jan 2004
Source: Drug War Chronicle (US Web)
Contact:  http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2514
Author: Phillip S. Smith, Editor
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)

TAKING DRUG POLICY TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

SSDP Goes to New Hampshire

More than 150 student drug policy activists made the arduous trek to
wintry New Hampshire this week as Students for Sensible Drug Policy
(http://www.ssdp.org) combined its annual convention with some
presidential politicking. With the New Hampshire primary, the first in
the nation, barely two weeks away, the fast-growing nationwide student
group is taking full advantage of proximity to the candidates to press
home its issues.

Foremost among them is the repeal of the Higher Education Act's
anti-drug provision. Enacted in 1998 at the behest of arch-drug
warrior Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), the provision bars students with drug
convictions, no matter how minor, from receiving federal financial
assistance to attend college for varying periods of time.

The SSDP national convention coincides with the national College
Convention 2004 (http://www.nec.edu/cc2k4/), an agglomeration of
student activists of various stripes who have also seen the political
wisdom of going where the candidates are. And the candidates are
appearing at the convention. While the College Convention has drawn
hundreds, SSDP is by far the largest single contingent, said SSDP
legislative director Ross Wilson.

"SSDP has a huge presence here," said Wilson, who reported by phone
from Manchester on Thursday's busy schedule of meeting and asking
questions of the candidates. "The candidates probably talked more
about drug policy than not because we were here," he said, adding that
the drug policy reform bloc was also bolstered by the presence of Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition (http://www.leap.cc), whose Jack Cole
had a featured speaking slot on the College Convention's own schedule,
by Vote Hemp (http://www.votehemp.com), Granite Staters for Medical
Marijuana (http://www.granitestaters.com) and other
organizations.

What follows below is Wilson's account of Thursday's candidate
encounters:

. Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich: "We asked him about the drug war, and
he expressed his opposition to it and how it has been waged and said we had
to reexamine the way we dealt with drugs. He also said he favored marijuana
decriminalization. He also showed up at the last minute at a dinner we had;
he popped in and talked to us for about 15 minutes. He thanked us for our
support, and supported our HEA repeal efforts. He's our champion among the
candidates."

. Former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun: "We asked her about HEA, which
she didn't totally understand, but she did express her concern about
filling the prisons with nonviolent offenders. But later, as she was
walking out, I asked her again about HEA. This time, she said she thought
it was a terrible law and she was against it. That is a firm affirmation
that she is for repeal."

. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry: "SSDP board member Ian Mance asked him
about HEA, and Kerry didn't seem totally familiar with the issue. He asked
if it applied to both possession and distribution and when told yes, said
he would favor repeal only for possession. He wanted to remain tough on
drug dealers, he said. I caught up with him later and asked if he really
wanted to punish people by withholding student loans after they had already
been punished and when judges already had the option of doing so if they
wanted. Was he against judicial discretion? He didn't really answer that
except to say that in general judges should have discretion."

. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman: "He called on me, and I asked him about
the drug provision and what he would do to work for repeal. He hemmed and
hawed a little and asked me to repeat what the provision does, then he said
he didn't think we should be punishing people who have paid their debt to
society. He ended saying he would give a tentative yes to repeal, he would
support it. He is perhaps the most conservative of the candidates, so that
was a big surprise."

Question and answer sessions with former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, retired
general Wesley Clark, Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt and North
Carolina Sen. John Edwards are set for Friday, Wilson said.

It wasn't all presidential candidates, he noted. "There was a group we
had never heard of, Students Taking Action Against Drugs (STAND), and
they had a panel. We sent some students to check it out and ask
questions and point out flaws. We just slaughtered them," Wilson
chortled. "They couldn't address our points, they couldn't defend
their point of view. They were flustered, and later on, they came out
and asked us for more information. We ended up giving them copies of
'Drug War Facts' (http://www.drugwarfacts.org)."

[STAND appears to a project of media educator Renee Hobbs
(http://www.reneehobbs.org), who served as a consultant to the White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy during the Clinton
administration. According to Hobbs' web site, STAND "invites young
people to use the power of mass media to design, create and deliver
meaningful messages to help other teens resist drug use."]

"Their brochures were slick, but the STAND kids weren't," said
Wilson.

And then there was Bill Bennett, the former drug czar and
self-appointed moralizer for the nation, whose halo of virtue was
tarnished recently by his admission under pressure that he has a
big-time gambling jones. To greet Bennett, an early advocate of drug
testing and "zero tolerance" for student drug use, SSDP demonstrators
met him with urine sample cups and fliers detailing his career of
atrocities. The great moralizer did not respond to the urine sample
challenge.

And last but not least, said Wilson, SSDP media director Melissa Milam
and Caton Volk from Chicago are working on a documentary to be shown
on MTV's "Choose or Lose" get out the vote campaign. "They've been
filming all the interactions with the candidates, the meeting with
STAND, everything," said Wilson. Freelance journalist Dan Forbes, a
notable on the drug policy beat, is also in attendance.

SSDP will remain in New Hampshire through Saturday, with the
organization holding elections for a new board of directors Thursday
evening, and other business to attend to. Stay tuned for a follow-up
report next week on the rest of the convention. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake