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Big Changes to Kentucky Drug Laws Advance in Legislature

Kentucky's House Judiciary Committee approved the most sweeping changes to the state's penal code in a generation in an effort to reduce prison and jail crowding. The committee voted unanimously to send House Bill 463 to the full House, where a floor vote is expected tomorrow. The result of much negotiation and compromise, the bill would steer many drug addicts into treatment and community supervision rather than prison. It drew praise from prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges and local leaders. The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce endorsed it, warning that the state's incarceration costs are draining resources that could better be spent on education.

Mexican President's Visit to Stanford Meets with Objections Due to His Drug Prohibition War

Mexican President Felipe Calderón has been invited to give the commencement address at Stanford University in June, but an editorial in this week’s El Mensajero calls it the "wrong choice" due to his prohibitionist drug war. El Mensajero editor María Mejía writes that the point of a commencement address is to inspire students, adding that if she were a student, she wouldn’t feel inspired by Calderón. "I don’t admire his war against drug trafficking...I can’t believe that more than 30,000 dead during his administration due to violence stemming from narcotrafficking is something that could inspire me," she wrote.

Teen's Medical Marijuana Fight Escalates As School Says He Cannot Come Back to Class After Going Home for Medicine, Father Appeals to Legislators for Help

The saga of a Colorado Springs, Colorado teenager struggling with a rare neurological condition best controlled with medical marijuana lozenges became a little more surreal when school officials informed the student’s father that the child cannot return to school on any day that he consumes medical marijuana. The child missed most of the last school year when he was diagnosed with diaphragmatic and axial myoclonus, which causes seizures that can last for 24 hours or more. He spent extensive periods of time hospitalized and used morphine and other narcotics to control the seizures until doctors discovered that THC works better than any other medication.

Law Student Sues St. John’s University for Rescinding Readmission Over Drug Charges

David Powers, an accountant who took time out of law school at St. John’s University, has sued the Roman Catholic university in New York after it refused to readmit him, saying that he had not been honest about a criminal conviction, since expunged, in his past. Three semesters into his law degree, Mr. Powers was granted a leave of absence to manage a $2-billion investment fund in Hong Kong.

Greenway University's Medical Marijuana Seminar

In November, voters went to the polls and passed a proposition to allow medical marijuana in Arizona.

Later this year, the drug will be legally sold for medicinal use.

There are a lot of rules when it comes to dispensaries and hydro-shops, including where they can be built and how many permits will be granted.

As the first state approved and regulated medical marijuana industry education provider, Greenway University will hold seminars during a two day event. Topics include political issues, legal procedures, edibles, nutrition, growing and cultivation.  Attendees can even learn how to become "budtenders."

"We aim to not only educate on the laws and how they work, but also on how to go about opening a dispensary, techniques and information on cultivation, in addition to holding seminars by industry experts throughout the Valley and the nation," said Founder and CEO of Greenway University Gus Escamilla. "This is going to be a thriving industry which can really boost the local economy, but only if it's done right. We hope to drive the message of how important it is to have education before implementation."

There will also be video presentations, product testing and business management education.

For more information, contact 1-888-694-2033 or [email protected], or see www.greenwayuniversity.com

Tickets: $295
 

Drug Prohibition War Prompts Text Message Alert System at UT-Brownsville

The University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College is planning an emergency text messaging system as part of its strategy to alert students and faculty to dangers amid the drug prohibition war raging across the Rio Grande. One recent intelligence alert had campus police knocking on dorm doors in the middle of the night to warn students to stay indoors.

Rhode Island Medical Marijuana School Indefinitely Postponed

The New England School of Alternative Horticultural Studies — previously billed as Rhode Island’s first medical marijuana school — has decided to cancel its inaugural class and indefinitely postpone operations over concerns that the Rhode Island Department of Health has not offered it explicit approval.

We're Not Giving Up!

SSDP Action Alert

Call Congress Today!

Act now!Ask your legislators to repeal the harmful Aid Elimination Penalty.

Dear Friends,

Over the past year you all have scored some huge national victories.  Not least among them helping to convince our long-time opponent Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) to scale back the HEA Aid Elimination Penalty that he created over a decade ago.   

As you probably already know, in September 2009, The House of Representatives passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), which included language that would repeal the Aid Elimination Penalty for students convicted of drug possession offenses.  

Since we know that many distribution cases are pleaded down to simple possession, this change will reinstate financial aid to a large number of students who would otherwise be affected by Souder's amendment.    

Last week Congress was poised to include the entirety of the SAFRA legislation into the health care reconciliation bill, including our provision. But I have some unfortunate news.  According to the rules of the now famous reconciliation process, amendments that directly change policy, as ours does, are subject to votes that require a 60 percent majority. So, in the eleventh hour, our amendment was taken out of the bill for procedural reasons.   

The good news is that this turn of events does not represent a lack of political will on the part of our allies in Congress . With leading Democrats devoted to changing this horrible provision - and with your letters and phone calls - I still believe we will successfully amend the Aid Elimination Penalty by the end of 2010.  We'll need to keep up the pressure, but I have every confidence that these recent events only delayed our inevitable victory. 

Sincerely, 

Matthew Palevsky

Acting Executive Director

Students for Sensible Drug Policy 

P.S. Do you want SSDP to continue pressuring Congress to ensure financial aid for students?  If so, help us by making a donation today so that we can hire a policy director to keep the pressure on our elected representatives in Washington.

http://www.ssdp.org/donate

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