US Gov't Encourages Drug Offenders to Choose the Army Instead of College

[Heretic.Ape.]

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/123008.html

The Drug War Draft Marches on Through the Night to Baghdad

Nick Gillespie | October 16, 2007, 11:31am
Interesting vid clip from the folks at Students for a Sensible Drug Policy about what they're calling "the drug war draft." As readers of reason and Hit & Run know, current law dictates that college students with drug busts on their records get bounced from federal financial aid. The SSDP folks point out that:

The U.S. Military is having trouble meeting its recruiting goals.
To make up for the enlistment shortcomings, the Bush administration has loosened restrictions and is granting more so-called "character waivers" to allow more people with drug convictions to sign up.
Meanwhile, President Bush and some of his friends in Congress support a law that has prevented 200,000 aspiring students from getting the financial aid they need to afford college just because they have drug convictions (most often for misdemeanor marijuana possession).
Of course, young people should be able to serve our country in whatever way they think they best can - whether by going to college and becoming a doctor or a lawyer, or by enlisting in the armed services.
But the "Drug War Draft" created by the Aid Elimination Penalty limits opportunities and forces countless young people out of school and into the military to fight a war they may not agree with. Eerily, the Pentagon-commissioned RAND report Recruiting Youth in the College Market (PDF) states: "The [armed] services might be able to significantly expand their pool of potential recruits by adopting policies that target youth who plan to go to college..."

I don't agree that the AEP forces anyone into the military, though it definitely fucks with student aid in a tremendously stupid and unfair manner that should never have started. But I'm with SSDP on the question of fairness. Here's the clip:

to see video go to video discussion thread.

[Perception Addict]

US Government Encourages Drug Offenders to Choose the Army Instead of College

We can now add to our long and growing list of drug war grievances that this terrible crusade has become a fully functional army recruitment tool. The U.S. Military has changed its rules to make it easier for drug offenders to enlist. Meanwhile, the aid elimination penalty of the Higher Education Act denies federal financial aid to students with drug convictions. That's right, folks. The federal government thinks drug users don't belong in college, but has no problem sending them to die in Iraq.

Of course, we support the U.S. Military's new hiring policy. Past drug use should never be a factor in assessing a person's qualifications. But making it harder for drug offenders to go to school, while making it easier for them to join the army, is shockingly barbaric and hypocritical.

One can only hope that this bizarre situation may expose the fraudulent logic by which drug offenders are denied college aid to begin with. After all, military service is widely considered an honorable profession; one which requires great courage, character, and intelligence. The very notion that past drug users can serve their country in combat destroys the myth that these Americans are somehow handicapped because they took drugs.

Now that the U.S. government has acknowledged this principle in one self-serving context, it bears a powerful moral obligation to examine and abolish other forms of discrimination against drug users. Freedom, however one may choose to define it, cannot be defended so long as we arbitrarily injure and obstruct our fellow citizens over such petty indiscretions.

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_...ges_drug_offen

End the Drug War Draft

Largely due to the unpopular war in Iraq, the U.S. Military is having trouble meeting its recruiting goals.

To make up for the enlistment shortcomings, the Bush administration has loosened restrictions and is granting more so-called "character waivers" to allow more people with drug convictions to sign up.

Meanwhile, President Bush and some of his friends in Congress support a law that has prevented 200,000 aspiring students from getting the financial aid they need to afford college just because they have drug convictions (most often for misdemeanor marijuana possession).

Of course, young people should be able to serve our country in whatever way they think they best can - whether by going to college and becoming a doctor or a lawyer, or by enlisting in the armed services.

But the "Drug War Draft" created by the Aid Elimination Penalty limits opportunities and forces countless young people out of school and into the military to fight a war they may not agree with. Eerily, the Pentagon-commissioned RAND report Recruiting Youth in the College Market (PDF) states: "The [armed] services might be able to significantly expand their pool of potential recruits by adopting policies that target youth who plan to go to college..."

Take action now and tell Congress to overturn misguided Drug War policies that target youth!

FAST FACTS:

* 200,000 students have been denied education opportunities since the Aid Elimination Penalty was added to the Higher Education Act in 1998.

* 18 percent of Army recruits in Fiscal Year 2007 year needed waivers for past criminal behavior, according to the Military Times.

* More than 350 prominent education, addiction recovery, civil rights, and religious organization have called on Congress to overturn the aid elimination penalty.

-From the Students For Sensible Drug Policy's End the Drug War Draft page.

[Panthers007]

This was a common "recruitment" method during Vietnam: You get busted for a lid (ounce back then) or so of grass - the judge gives you a choice. Several years in prison, or you enlist in the military. They'd start you off in a "punishment company" and then ship you directly to Vietnam.

Seems the Bush Regime is taking it's cues from Richard Nixon and his ilk. "Ho! Ho! Ho Chi Minh! The Viet-Cong are gonna win!"