SSDP Voice - Issue 3 - October 2006

UMF chapter changes harmful drug policy; four more chapters make waves

Though the school year has just begun, a number of SSDP chapters are already busy improving their campus drug policies. We report on the efforts of one SSDP chapter that has already achieved a major success, and four chapters that are well on their way to victory.

University of Maine-Farmington

Members of the SSDP chapter at UMF are celebrating a new change in university policy that greatly reduces the penalty for minor first offenses involving marijuana or alcohol. While the former policy automatically evicted students caught with marijuana or alcohol from on-campus housing, the new policy allows first offenders a warning, which may include counseling or other non-punitive measures.

The change comes as a direct result of lobbying efforts by UMF’s SSDP chapter. Chapter president Michael Simpson met with UMF’s Vice President for Student and Community Services, Celeste Branham, after witnessing friends’ lives disrupted by the university’s unduly harsh punishment.

After Simpson’s meeting with Branham, the administrator concluded that the penalty was in serious need of revision. “We were not doing the proper thing, particularly with first year students,” Branham told the campus newspaper. Students who had a ‘minor incident’ were, “according to our policy, automatically removed from our campus. To banish them was really, I think, a statement of not encouraging them to succeed here. Why don’t we give people an opportunity to make an error in minor cases?”

University of Georgia

UGA’s SSDP chapter is working on expanding a proposed campus medical amnesty policy (MAP) from an alcohol-only program to one that includes all drugs. A MAP allows students to call for help during medical emergencies without fear of University disciplinary action.

“I cannot recall a single fatal case of alcohol poisoning among UGA students,” said a UGA SSDP spokesperson. “In contrast, we've had four fatal overdoses in less than four years--all of which involved other drugs in conjunction with alcohol. An alcohol-only MAP would save lives eventually, but it overlooks tragedies also involving other drugs, which have taken at least four UGA student lives since April 2003.”

UGA activists persuaded the SGA to consider the issue, and on September 5, the Ethics Committee agreed to expand the scope of their concern to all drugs. SGA leaders then pressured the university committee investigating the issue to hold another meeting to address other drugs.

UGA SSDP is now working to ensure that the SGA is prepared to present the most effective argument possible. They are also writing letters to administrators, issuing statements to local media, and organizing a student petition.

Florida State University

In February of this year, FSU SSDP and NORML chapters passed a SAFER initiative on campus. Sixty percent of the students who voted in the election agreed that because marijuana is as harmful or less harmful than alcohol, the penalties for marijuana possession should equal those for underage drinking.

In addition to working with administrators to shift FSU’s marijuana policy closer to the wishes of the FSU student body, the group is also collaborating with the student health center to set up harm reduction measures, such as a marijuana education class, anonymous e-mail support, a website, and a drug resource library. The class would be used as a non-punitive measure for students who are arrested for marijuana offenses, replacing a current class that focuses primarily on alcohol.

“Our goal is to require incoming freshmen and RAs to take the short class,” said FSU NORML President Suzanne Scott. “We hope that the class will be up and running by Fall 2007. Confidential e-mails will be answered by myself and other officers. Students can ask questions and, with their permission, we will publish the questions and answers in the student newspaper.”

The administration has been receptive to the group. The President wrote that the group had "excellent ideas," and the Vice President even encouraged teaching harm reduction in the proposed marijuana education class.

University of Maryland

Last spring, the University of Maryland’s SSDP and NORML chapters worked with SAFER to pass an on-campus referendum that resulted in 65% of student voters calling for marijuana penalties to be no more punitive than underage alcohol penalties. Currently, when students are caught with illegal drugs at UMD, the university automatically evicts students from the dorms and subjects them to lengthy, intrusive drug tests.

Reflecting on the referendum process, UMD SSDP President Stacia Cosner said:

“Looking back, we actually alienated a lot of students because, being a University notorious for alcohol use, many people were under the impression that we were trying to demonize alcohol and increase the penalties for drinking on campus. Also, this is how the University perceived it, because they have openly been cracking down harder on drinking this semester, even though this directly goes against the wording of our referendum and our message in general.”

Undeterred by misperceptions about the campaign, Cosner and other chapter members prepared a 10-page proposal (with a 35-page appendix with statistics and citations), and have been meeting with administrators to demand much-needed reform.

Thanks to the chapter’s efforts, the Vice President of the student-run Resident Halls Association has drafted a bill to lower penalties for students caught with marijuana in the dorms. And if the administration ignores the bill after it passes, the chapter plans to organize a mass protest and media campaign.

Other plans include a proposal to the University Senate to change the rule mandating that students be suspended or expelled for first time possession of any illicit drug. The chapter is also drafting a proposal asking the University Health Center to reform their time-consuming and expensive Substance Abuse Intervention Program, which is mandatory for any student found guilty of any drug violation.

“We want to work with the health center to revise this so that it is not so severe and damaging to students. We hope to have at least opened a dialogue with the Substance Abuse department by the end of the semester,” said Cosner.

In advising other student activists, Cosner said that she’s learned to be very careful in press relations.

“I have learned (the hard way) that the notion that 'all press is good press' is completely wrong. Our school publication, The Diamondback has covered much of our actions, but often--whether intentionally or not--they have reflected us in a negative light…I would advise fellow activists to be very, very careful when speaking to the media to make sure that you never say anything that could be used against you. Stay on point, even if the reporter tries to digress, and always always, always be positive.”

University of Central Florida

UCF’s SSDP and NORML chapters are planning on lowering marijuana penalties on campus by working to pass legislation within the student senate.

The groups are also working to reform UCF’s dorm eviction and parental notification policies through the Golden Rule Review Committee, which oversees these policies. UCF SSDP President Tina Kimballreports that UCF has a very supportive climate for drug policy reform, and she believes that these changes, particularly the dorm eviction policy, are realistic goals for the group.

Additionally, they plan on providing reality-based drug education during orientation programming, in conjunction with the REAL Project, a UCF program that focuses on alcohol abuse prevention. UCF SSDP would like to expand the REAL Project programming to include more information about other drugs, and affiliated faculty and staff are supportive.

This spring, UCF will be hosting the southeastern regional SSDP conference.  Details will be available in the coming months.

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