Stop the War on Education

Students for Sensible Drug Policy have put together a sign-on letter for people that are interested in trying repeal the ban on financial aid for college students with drug convictions. Since the aid elimination penalty was added as an amendment to the Higher Education Act in 1998, nearly 200,000 aspiring students have been blocked access to aid, often for relatively minor offenses such as possession of small amounts of marijuana.

While the penalty is supposed to keep young people away from drugs, it actually does the opposite by kicking at-risk students out of school.

But blocking access to education doesn't just hurt the students directly impacted – it has harmful implications for society as a whole. College graduates are much more likely to become successful taxpaying citizens, while those who are kicked out of school are more likely to abuse drugs, become costly drains on the criminal justice system, and rely on expensive government assistance programs.

Numerous addiction recovery, criminal justice, religious, and other leaders have insisted that education is one of the best means to reduce crime and drug abuse. Even Congress's own Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance recommended removing the drug conviction question from the aid application, calling it "irrelevant" to eligibility.

Click on the link below to help
Students for Sensible Drug Policy