Pubdate: Wed, 03 Dec 2008
Source: Central Florida Future (U of Central Florida, FL Edu)
Copyright: 2008 Central Florida Future
Contact: http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/home/lettertotheeditor/
Website: http://www.centralfloridafuture.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3300
Author: Donald Thomann
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?161 (Cannabis - Regulation)

GOLDEN RULE REVIEW COMMITTEE STALEMATE POSTPONES POT PROPOSAL

As a result of a stalemate 3-3-1 vote Tuesday, the final decision on 
a proposal that would equalize university penalties for marijuana and 
alcohol offenses has been pushed back to spring 2009.

"We are not trying to promote drug use with this proposal," said UCF 
Student Senator Brendon Rivard, "but to discourage irresponsible 
drinking. Alcohol is more dangerous than weed, and by making the 
penalties more severe for marijuana offenders, we are implicitly 
stating that it's OK to use the more dangerous substance."

At a meeting on Tuesday, Rivard presented to the Golden Rule Review 
Committee a proposal that would change the current Golden Rule 
statutes regarding marijuana policy at UCF.

If enacted, the new policy would reduce the penalties for first and 
second time misdemeanor marijuana possession and paraphernalia 
charges to the same level as the penalties currently in place 
regarding alcohol offenses, such as drinking on campus and underage drinking.

The equalization proposal would establish a three-strike policy for 
marijuana offenders. The first offense would come with the minimum 
drug education class and up to one semester of academic probation, 
the second offense would mandate a drug class and up to two semesters 
probation and the third offense could result in suspension for two 
semesters with the possibility of expulsion.

As it stands, the proposal only covers paraphernalia charges and 
possession charges of less than 14 grams, and would be in addition to 
any criminal charges at the state and local level.

Further, Rivard said that it would not cover possession of hard drugs 
such as heroin and amphetamines, and it would only apply to 
misdemeanor possession charges with no relating aggravating 
circumstances, such as assault or burglary.

"I think the logic and sensibility behind this proposed policy is 
undeniable," Rivard said.

And a majority of UCF's voting students agree. In February, with the 
help of the Colorado-based SAFER organization, the equalization 
measure was put to a referendum during Student Government Association 
elections. It passed with 57 percent.

The proposal garnered further support through endorsements by nine 
organizations, including the UCF Knights for Liberty, Code Pink, and 
the Future.

"The fact is, we got almost 60 percent on this back in February," 
said Mason Tvert, the co-founder and executive director of SAFER, 
which stands for Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation. "We 
helped to get it started, but we are really just about trying to 
spark the debate. This recent referendum demonstrated that the 
students at UCF are passionate and involved, and want to take this 
proposal and try to get policy changed."

"Students see daily the harms associated with alcohol - the fights, 
the alcohol poisoning, the car accidents - and they shouldn't be 
penalized for making the safer decision," he said.

SAFER's stated mission is to work to educate the public, specifically 
college students, about the relative safety of marijuana compared to 
alcohol and to advocate more evenhanded marijuana policies on college campuses.

Though the equalization proposal will likely pass with its major 
provisions intact, the Golden Rule Review Committee stills feels that 
a number of technicalities and specifics need to be worked out.

Madam Chair Ida Lattorre said that the committee was not ready to, 
and could not responsibly vote decisively on, the measure without 
further debate and possibilities for amendments.

Members of the committee had not received the proposal until just 
more than a week before the meeting, while the task force assigned to 
drafting the proposal and the Student Senate both had months to 
review the original referendum.

"This is the first time we have had this debate in this committee, 
and there are a number of things to clarify," Lattorre said. "For one 
thing, we need to figure out how to penalize offending students who 
are already on probation under the Golden Rule for things other than 
minor substance abuse."

Other features of the proposal at issue were the amount of marijuana 
a student could possess to qualify for equalized punishment, the 
process by which the penalties would be enacted and the vague 
language in some sections of the proposal.

At the end of the discussion, with time having well run out, a motion 
to table the equalization proposal by Lattorre was struck down, and 
it went to a vote.

The vote tied 3-3-1, and the Golden Rule Review Committee has 
scheduled a new debate and vote for January. The exact date has yet 
to be decided, but it will be posted on the committee's Web site once 
it is set.

The Golden Rule Review Committee hopes to use the coming months to 
deliberate and amend further Rivard's proposal, which is expected to 
pass at January's meeting.

"I think the amendments that they made and want to make are wise 
amendments," Rivard said. "And I will work with them to push this 
measure as much as possible until students stop being sanctioned for 
making the safer decision."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom