Tarif Ahmed (CAS ’13) is the vice president of the BU chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.
It is often the case that institutions experience a lag time before implementing policies that reflect the views of their constituents. In the case of America, and by extension, Boston University, this lag time is felt very strongly in regard to drug policy. Because of this, our nation still has an outdated and failed drug war that costs citizens billions of dollars and incarcerates thousands of individuals who are guilty only of choosing a drug that didn’t happen to be tobacco or alcohol. It is because of this archaic view on drugs that the organization Students For a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) was created.
Boston University’s SSDP chapter has been actively trying to promote a dialogue between students, administration and the public to discuss drug policy and reforms. According to the SSDP official website: “SSDP neither condones nor condemns drug use, rather we respect the right of individuals to make decisions about their own health and well-being.” This philosophy is the core of what members of the BU chapter believe and fight for.
At the BU chapter of SSDP, we realize that the drug war was both a failure and extremely irresponsible. It is politicking at its finest; politicians use the drug war to appear as though they are serving their communities, when in reality they are propagating a system that tears families apart for minor drug offenses. Speaking of minor drug offenses, SSDP questions why the use of certain drugs even equates to an offense. For example, marijuana, which is classified as a Schedule I drug (the most dangerous according to the federal government), is far safer than alcohol but far more illegal. Alcohol in excess can cause overdoses and permanent brain and liver damage. Tobacco is proven to cause cancer. Cannabis, on the other hand, has no history of deaths, nor has there been any conclusive study proving any damage from long term use. Yet, if someone possesses more than an ounce of marijuana, he or she will be arrested and put in jail.
These are the types of inconsistencies that SSDP tries to change. Because SSDP is a student driven organization, some of the important causes that SSDP fights for have a lot to do with college life. Medical amnesty is one such issue. Medical amnesty protects someone if they seek medical help while intoxicated. Currently, BU does not offer medical amnesty. If a student is in danger after using a harmful substance and needs medical attention, that student and his friends would still be punished by the university because they violated to the drug policy of the school. This is a huge problem because if someone is afraid of being suspended from their dorm, and chooses to forgo medical attention, that student or his friend could die. It makes sense for the university to provide medical amnesty because the life of a student is far more important than the school’s archaic drug policy. BU’s policy regarding marijuana is just that. Rather than follow in the footsteps of the state of Massachusetts (which decriminalized marijuana), BU still enacts harsh punishments on students found in possession of marijuana.
Despite SSDP’s opposition to the administrations drug policy, the club does not promote drug use. While changing the current drug policy is important, SSDP also focuses on preventing drug abuse through education. By educating the public with factual evidence (not lies, like D.A.R.E.), people will be better able to make decisions on which drugs they choose to partake in.
Currently, BU is going to host the 2011 Northeast SSDP Regional conference. The conference will be taking place October 1st to 2nd. The conference will teach students how to lobby, provide organizational tips and include speakers such as Rick Doblin (founder of MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies).
More information can be found here.
Due to the tyrannic and mindless actions of prohibitionists, tens of millions of people world-wide (both users and non-users) have been either killed, maimed, incarcerated or had their lives very seriously disrupted. Prohibitionists are solely responsible for an immense increase in violent organized crime, an AIDS Pandemic, the undermining of international development and security and a grave abuse of human rights on a scale barely witnessed in human social history.
Corporate greed and individual bigotry have accelerated us towards a situation where all the usual peaceful and democratic methods needed to reverse the acute damage done by prohibition no longer function as envisaged by the Founding Fathers of our once great and free nation. Such a political impasse coupled with great economic tribulation is precisely that which throughout history has invariably ignited violent revolution.
In order to avert what will surely be a far more violent situation than we are all presently experiencing, there appears to be just one last avenue left to us – Jury Nullification.
Jury Nullification is a constitutional doctrine that allows juries to acquit defendants who are technically guilty, but who don’t deserve punishment. All non-violent drug offenders who are not selling to children, be they users, dealers or importers, fall into this category. If you believe that prohibition is a dangerous and counter-productive policy, then you don’t have to help to apply it. Under the Constitution, when it comes to acquittals, you, the juror, have the last word!
The idea that jurors should judge the law, as well as the facts, is a proud and vital component of American history.
The most shining example of Jury Nullification occurred during the shameful period in US history when slavery was legal. People who helped slaves escape were committing a federal crime – violation of the Fugitive Slave Act. Jurors would often acquit, even when the defendants admitted their guilt. Legal historians credit these cases with advancing the abolition of slavery.
No amount of money, police powers, weaponry, wishful thinking or pseudo-science will make our streets safer; only an end to prohibition can do that. How much longer are you willing to foolishly risk your own survival by continuing to ignore the obvious, historically confirmed solution? – When called for Jury Service concerning any non-violent prohibition-related offense, it is your moral and civic duty to VOTE TO ACQUIT!
“To function as the founders intended, our republic requires that “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
~ THOMAS JEFFERSON, letter to William Stephens Smith, November 13, 1787.
To avoid such carnage and turmoil on a scale not seen in this land since the 1860s, we may have just one last chance.
If you wish to see this insane prohibition replaced by drug policy based on science, public health and sound principles of human rights that will ensure a safe future for your children and grandchildren, PLEASE VOTE TO ACQUIT!