The Bush administration’s strict enforcement of a 1998 amendment to the Higher Education Act will deny federal loans to more than 34,000 students this coming school year, the Associated Press reported this week.
The provision withholds grants, loans or work assistance from anyone convicted of a drug offense, including the misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Those convicted of other crimes, including violent offenses, remain eligible.
“What kind of message are we sending when we deny aid to students whose only ‘crime’ is that they smoked marijuana?” asked Keith Stroup, Executive Director of NORML.
Though the law took effect in 1999, it was only loosely enforced by the Clinton administration. According to the Department of Education, the government withheld aid to some 8,100 students last year after they revealed on their federal application form that they had a prior drug conviction. Students who left the question blank still received aid. A spokesperson for the Bush administration announced in February that they would bar aid to both drug offenders and those who fail to respond.
In February, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) introduced legislation in Congress, H.R. 786, to repeal the ban. Fifty-two members of Congress have signed on to his bill, although it has yet to receive a formal hearing.
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. To send a letter to your member of Congress in support of Frank’s bill, visit: http://capwiz.com/norml2.
