Marijuana Can Slow the Learning Process
Whew! Leaving the office for just a couple of days puts me way back on everything: phone calls, paperwork, emails, trackback spam, etc. I just got caught up on developments in all things legal via the always excellent and comprehensive Indiana Law Blog. One thing that came up in the news and I did not see Marcia cover:
News Link Indiana is reporting that a Ball State University student is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in the federal district court of South Dakota over the federal law that makes students ineligible for federal student aid, including subsidized loans, if they have a conviction for a drug related offense:
Sophomore Alexis Schwab was denied financial assistance for her junior year, after checking ‘yes’ to a drug conviction on her FAFSA financial aid form. Schwab was accused of possession of marijuana last year
Link.
The action is being brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, and the article says it challenges the constitutionality of the federal provision The Higher Education Act, specifically, 20 USC 1091). I could not tell what the challenge is based on. The article also notes that the federal provision was written by Indiana’s own Congressman Mark Souder. The law provides for 1 year of ineligibility for the first offense involving possession, 2 years for the second, and indefinite ineligibility for the third. The penalty for the illegal sale of drugs is much stiffer.
For more information about this issue see The Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform (CHEAR), which recently issued a report on the extent to which becoming ineligible for federal aid will cause you to loose access to state based financial aid, as well: State-by-State Report on Drug Provision’s Impact on State Financial Aid.
April 10th, 2007 02:06
yes atlast!ive READ A NEWS LIKE THIS…….NICE ONE