Pubdate: Wed, 26 Apr 2006
Source: Brown Daily Herald, The (Brown, RI Edu)
Copyright: 2006 The Brown Daily Herald
Contact:  http://www.browndailyherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/727
Author: Zachary Barter
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)

MARYLAND STUDENTS VOTE TO EASE MARIJUANA PENALTIES

Students at the University of Maryland, College Park joined a growing 
national movement this month when they approved a referendum calling 
for a relaxation of the school's marijuana policies.

The referendum, which was included on the ballot for student 
government elections, urges administrators to penalize marijuana 
possession the same way as alcohol violations. Nearly two-thirds of 
students supported the measure, though only 4,500 of the school's 
25,000 undergraduates voted in the election.

The vote carries only symbolic weight, as students have no power to 
change the school's drug policy. But administrators said they will 
examine the issue.

"All actions taken by our student government are taken seriously," 
said Millree Williams, director of university communications. "The 
university will give it consideration, as it does any student initiative."

In recent years, students at the University of Colorado, Colorado 
State University, the University of Texas and Florida State 
University have passed similar proposals, though the efforts have not 
yet prompted any of the schools to revise their policies.

Maryland senior Damien Nichols, president of the school's chapter of 
Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the leader of the referendum 
campaign, said he recognizes the referendum is not a "quick fix" to 
the school's drug policies, which he described as "awful" and said 
were responsible for an "epidemic" of arrests and evictions on campus.

"The referendum was one step of many," he said. "Now it's time to get 
our nose to the grindstone."

In the months ahead, Nichols said he and his supporters will be 
drafting specific proposals and lobbying administrators to change the 
current policy.

But while advocates for reform can now claim to have student support 
behind them, their prospects for success are far from certain.

"They have an uphill battle ahead of them," said Devin Ellis, a 
Maryland senior and chief of staff of the school's Student Government 
Association. "Really, the people who they're going to have to go 
after are the state-level decision-makers."

Still, Ellis said he thinks Nichols and his supporters made a good 
move by gauging students' opinions on the issue.

"They've really gotten very organized this year," he said. "They knew 
exactly what they wanted and exactly how to go about getting it."

Nichols decided to push for the referendum after he was contacted by 
a representative of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, a 
Denver-based non-profit that promotes marijuana as an alternative to 
alcohol. In November 2005, SAFER achieved its biggest victory to date 
when Denver residents voted to decriminalize the possession and 
consumption of less than one ounce of marijuana.

But even as the movement to relax drug policies gathers strength at 
schools across the country, Daniel MacCombie '08, president of 
Brown's SSDP chapter, said he does not anticipate replicating the 
actions of his Maryland counterparts.

"Brown students are pretty satisfied right now with how the 
University deals with drug abuse," MacCombie said, describing the 
school's policy as "reasonable" and "equitable."

In addition, MacCombie said, Brown currently does not have a 
mechanism for the type of referendum passed at Maryland, though he 
said it might be possible to demonstrate student support for 
potential reforms by pressuring the Undergraduate Council of Students 
to pass a resolution on the issue or including a question on a WebCT poll.

MacCombie said the preponderance of evidence is on the side of those 
who support the relaxation of marijuana laws.

"All the scientific evidence has shown that the negative consequences 
of marijuana are equal to, if not less than, those of alcohol," he 
said. "Current differences between alcohol and marijuana punishments 
are due to politics, not science."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom