ACLU FIGHTS LAW DENYING DRUG CONVICTS COLLEGE AID

Group will sue federal government to provide financial aid to
students who have been convicted of drug offenses

Potheads, beware - marijuana is not only bad for your lungs and your
pocketbook, it can also take away your financial aid if you're caught.

But the American Civil Liberties Union in conjunction with various
civil rights and student rights groups has announced that it will
file suit against the federal government based on its denial of
financial aid to students who have been convicted of a drug offense.

A section of the Higher Education Act, up for renewal this month, has
rendered an estimated 175,000 students ineligible for aid, according
to a recent study released by the U.S. Government Accountability
Office. The provision denies aid to anyone who has been convicted of
even a minor drug offense.

Dan Berger, a spokesman for the ACLU, said it resorted to legal
action because its previous attempts at lobbying had been largely fruitless.

"It's hard (for Congress) to do anything that's not completely
draconian on drug policy because there's so much fear of seeming soft
on drugs," Berger said. He added that because the courts doesn't face
that political pressure, the ACLU may have better luck with the suit
than it had with lobbying.

Adam Wolf, an attorney for the ACLU, said the lawsuit has good
chances in court because it makes strong claims against denying
education to drug offenders. He said the suit will allege the act
violates at least three provisions of the U.S. Constitution,
including the Equal Protection Clause, the due process clause and the
double jeopardy clause.

The lawsuit comes at a time when Congress is already looking at
revising the Higher Education Act to cater to criticisms that it does
not serve as a deterrent to drug use because it is retroactive in its
application.

Currently, a college student can be stripped of his financial aid
even if he was convicted of a drug offense in high school and not in college.

"It's unfair that it doesn't give notice to people of what the exact
penalties for a crime are. €| Only later does Congress say, €'Oh,
we're going to tack on additional penalties now,'" Wolf said.

Alexa Marrero, spokeswoman for Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), chair of
the House Education Committee, said she agrees that the provision is
being incorrectly applied because it considered past offenses when
taking away financial aid.

For these reasons, resolutions are likely to pass in both the House
and the Senate that would make the act applicable only to those
students who are convicted of a drug offense while they are receiving
financial aid.

But even if these resolutions pass, alleviating concerns that the
act's retroactive application is unfair, the ACLU will still file a
lawsuit to stop any stripping of financial aid from drug offenders.

"(The provision leaves) tens of thousands of students behind," said
Tom Angell, campaigns director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy,
which will be a partner in the suit.

Angell said that regardless of the success of the suit, he hopes it
will provide additional pressure on Congress.

"Even if we don't end up winning in court, certainly it's going to
raise the profile of the issue," he said.

The ACLU is currently searching for student plaintiffs who were
affected by the provision to bring the case to court.