Pubdate: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 Source: Technician, The (NC State U, NC Edu) Copyright: 2010 The Technician Contact: http://technicianonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2268 Author: Nicholas Miano LOOKING FOR A SENSIBLE DRUG POLICY Students for Sensible Drug Policy," or SSDP for short, is an organization comprised of student-run chapters at more than 100 colleges and universities around the country. Its goal is to achieve "a just and compassionate society where drug abuse is treated as a health issue instead of a criminal justice issue." They work towards this goal by encouraging "young people to participate in the political process, pushing for sensible policies . . . while fighting back against counterproductive drug war policies." Recently, the outreach director of the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, Stacia Cosner, contacted me in regard to a column I wrote a few weeks ago about medicinal marijuana. She wanted to know if anyone would be interested in starting an SSDP chapter at N.C. State. I told her that I'm sure there are students here who would be interested and that an SSDP chapter would be beneficial to students at State - I'm hopeful I'll be able to find enough students w! ho agree with me. There is an obvious need for massive reform of our nation's drug policies. These policies, known as the "War on Drugs," were intended to curtail drug use in America. However, since the "war" started, drug use has increased - along with our nation's prison population. Currently, almost 60 percent of all inmates held in federal penitentiaries are nonviolent drug offenders. This, coupled with the fact that drug use continues to increase, suggests that the "War on Drugs" is at best ineffective, and at worst has lead to the wrongful imprisonment of millions of Americans. A common assumption about the "War on Drugs" is that it mainly targets black market smugglers and "drug lords." However, according to Department of Justice statistics from 2008, 1,702,537 were people arrested for drugs - 847,863 were for marijuana - and out of that number 754,224 were arrested for simple possession alone. A majority of the people arrested for drugs other than marijuana were also arrested for simple possession. Also, the complete prohibition of drugs, especially marijuana, has made black market smuggling incredibly profitable. So, our current drug policies seem to inadvertently benefit the criminal elements that stand to make a serious profit from drug trafficking (even though they occasionally get busted), while also inadvertently targeting drug consumers. The prohibition wastes valuable police resources on nonviolent drug users, instead of allocating them toward serious criminals. Opening an SSDP chapter at the University would give students who believe these policies are unfair an opportunity to effectively voice their dissatisfaction. It would provide them with an efficient vehicle for voicing their views and a network of support that spans the nation. Most importantly, it would give students a chance to influence our nation's policies towards drug use. With enough diligence and support from groups such as "Students for Sensible Drug Policy," the citizens of this nation can reverse the course of the failed War on Drugs, and push for fairer legislation that doesn't treat nonviolent drug users as criminals. Anyone who is interested in learning more about "Students for Sensible Drug Policy" can go to its Web site at http://ssdp.org/index.php. Also, anyone who is interested in working with me to start an SSDP chapter can reach me by e-mail at I believe this could be a great thing for our school, and I hope I can find some support from fellow students. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake