New group advocates 'sensible' drug policy

A new student group is working to raise awareness about drug issues and reform drug laws.

The Princeton chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), recognized last week by the Student Groups Recognition Committee, already has more than 80 members on its mailing list, said SSDP president Reona Kumagai '06.

One of the group's aims is to provide drug education for students at the personal level. The group plans to contact Public Safety to find out about their policies and procedures regarding drug use on campus and to publicize this information.

"Most people only know 'Just say no' about drugs," Kumagai said. "Some kids are going to do it no matter what, so you might as well educate them about it."

Kumagai said SSDP neither condones nor condemns individual drug use by students.

"This club isn't about going out and smoking and getting high, like a lot of people seem to think," she said. "We want to educate people about their rights."

The group also plans to raise general awareness of drug issues that affect students on a national level, such as medicinal marijuana and prison sentence reform. Members hope to hold demonstrations in Trenton to make their voices heard at the state level.

One of SSDP's short-term goals is to convince the USG to publicly denounce the Higher Education Act (HEA), on the basis that it contains a provision that can delay or deny federal financial aid to students with drug convictions.

"Drugs are a big problem, but if you take away financial aid from people trying to get to college, then that was their way out. It basically denies them an education," Kumagai said.

Though Princeton does not have any specific policy regarding the possession or sale of illegal drugs by recipients of its own institutional financial aid, Associate Director in the Department for Undergraduate Financial Aid Robin Moscato said that the drug provision of the HEA has never affected a Princeton student.

Moscato said that while federal aid comprises a very small amount of the University's total aid program, she was "not aware of a single student who would have qualified for federal aid but has been denied it due to that specific provision."

Kumagai said that lobbying against the HEA is still an important issue for Princeton SSDP.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"Just because it doesn't affect us at Princeton doesn't mean we ignore something altogether," she said.

The club also plans to hold various events on campus such as a screening of "Maria, Full of Grace," a movie about a Columbian girl who gets involved in drug trafficking.

They are also trying to organize a talk by Tony Papa, who was imprisoned under the minimum prison sentences for drug crimes set by the Rockefeller Laws and was later released when he was granted clemency by the governor of New York.