[420 Girl]

Yesterday may have been April Fool’s Day, but for NORML Terps, the university’s alcohol policy is hardly a joke.

In recognition National Alcohol Awareness Month, group members gathered outside the Main Administration Building, protesting what they believe to be a discrepancy between alcohol and marijuana policies at the university and nationwide.

“Currently, alcohol is seen as a Class B violation,” said Zach Brown, the president of NORML Terps. “If you’re caught with alcohol, it’s just a slap on the wrist. But with marijuana, you’re kicked out of housing.”

This punishment is the reality for students at the university. Freshman marketing major Justin Kander said he had a friend kicked out of on-campus housing because of marijuana possession in Easton Hall.

“Not only was his housing revoked, but it goes on his criminal record and he has to submit to drug testing from the university,” Kander said.

The group chose to demonstrate outside the administration building because of its chief occupant, university President Dan Mote.

“Mote himself has admitted that alcohol is the cause of most of the problems, not marijuana,” Brown said, adding that it’s therefore hypocritical to punish marijuana more seriously.

Although Mote supports the Amethyst Initiative, which calls for a debate among university presidents and chancellors about the legal drinking age, NORML Terps criticized Mote for his failure to support the Emerald Initiative, which invites a similar discussion about marijuana policies.

But with Mote resigning at the end of this school year and the university in the midst of a search for his replacement, NORML Terps hope the change in president will bring a change in policies.

“In my next president, I want a more pragmatic approach,” Brown said. “We need a president who will look at how the policies are affecting our students.”

For now, the group simply hopes to spread their message. Yesterday, they carried banners reading SAFER — a reference to marijuana advocacy group Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation.


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