Students for Sensible Drug Policy will soon be submitting proposals to the University Senate and the RHA regarding how the university should treat on-campus marijuana offenses. However, many students in our campus community appear to be confused, angry or just unaware of what SSDP is trying to achieve on the campus. This reaction is understandable – it is difficult keep on top of every angle of campuswide policy and debate. In response, I’d like to address common questions and concerns raised regarding SSDP’s campaign.
1. Marijuana is illegal. The university cannot legalize it, and SSDP is wasting its time trying to make marijuana acceptable on the campus.
It is true: Marijuana is illegal under both federal and Maryland state law. The university, while it is a well-regarded institution, has no power to change that. However, it does have the power to change its own policies, restrictions and consequences regarding marijuana. SSDP stands for Students for Sensible Drug Policy. The emphasis here is not on legalization or exemption from rules, but “policy.” SSDP is currently focused on working with the Resident Life Department to implement a policy change that would no longer require resident assistants to involve the police and would alternatively handle these violations internally.
2. Police need to be called in this instance because marijuana possession is illegal and therefore it is understandable to involve law enforcement.
Go on the school website, click on “Office of the President,” then click on “Policies” and then scroll down to Article V-100 (D): “UMCP Resident Life Alcohol Policy.” It will say, regarding the punishment for underage alcohol consumption, that, “if found in possession of any open container of alcohol anywhere else in or around the residence halls, ALL students will be instructed to pour it out, in the nearest appropriate receptacle.” That’s it. There is nothing about termination of housing for first offense, nothing about drug testing or rehabilitation programs and nothing about calling the police. Everyone knows that if you are on Route 1 or College Avenxue and a police officer sees you drinking underage, you will often be given a citation or at least get in some sort of trouble with law enforcement. Is it really necessary for Resident Life to call the police immediately after they have caught students smoking pot and have them brought to the station?
3. Yes! It is necessary, and it does make sense to call the police and have these rules, because marijuana is TOTALLY illegal and alcohol is not.
Good point. It is only natural for a school to have harsher penalties regarding something that is completely illegal than something that is legal after a certain age. But consider this fun fact: If you look at the Student Code of Conduct again, nothing is said about drunken driving on the campus. As we all know, by state law, the legal consequences for drunken driving are more severe than those for a first-time marijuana possession. The university is now not only punishing students more severely, but documenting an established consequence, for an offense that, by law, is not considered nearly as dangerous or harmful as drunken driving.
4. If people do not want to be punished for marijuana in the dorms, they just should not smoke in them. These people are not victims, they are just idiots.
There is certainly good reasoning behind this view. In addition, this point has stopped many individuals potentially interested in drug policy reform in their tracks. It is certainly reasonable to expect that if a student doesn’t want to experience consequences, then he or she should follow the rules. However, I must ask, just because there are rules regarding an issue, and just because voluntarily breaking those rules will result in consequences, does that mean that nobody can advocate for change? Can no one argue that the dining halls should be open later, that the Shuttle-UM buses should run on time, that we should be able to park in more places, that the restrictions on alcohol in fraternities should be more reasonable?
I currently do not use marijuana on or off the campus, and I still endorse change because, in essence, I believe problems and issues at the university should not be handled by creating more restrictions and increasing disciplinary action. Rather, it should be addressed by fostering dialogue with the students. The current system makes students feel small, ashamed and alone and ultimately alienates them from the university community. Something, no matter what it is, needs to be changed.
Benjy Fogelman is a sophomore English language and literature and theatre major. He can be reached at benjy.fogelman@gmail.com.
