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On Tuesday, November 25, students and other members of the Ohio State community gathered for a fundraiser hosted by the local chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). In order to raise funds for upcoming events like Hempfest and the Million Marijuana March, organizers collected a plethora of pot-friendly gear to raffle after screening a marijuana prohibition documentary entitled “Grass.”
SSDP volunteers gathered before the show to prepare the setting by hanging banners and distributing educational materials to attendees of the fundraiser. But nobody was prepared for what would be the beginning of the end of SSDP’s successful movie/raffle fundraisers.
It is no secret to OSU activists and other members of the community that SSDP has been successfully combating marijuana prohibition through educational campaigns and large public demonstrations. It has also been no secret that several of the previous fundraisers hosted by SSDP, have erupted into full-fledge smoke-outs where as many as four hundred people shed the shackles of pot prohibition and ‘lit-up’ in defiance of our nation’s pot laws. But just as it was no secret to the close-knit community of activists, it was no secret to the OSU police department either.
During a fundraiser hosted in the spring, police were alerted to SSDP’s presence because there was clouds of smoke floating through the halls of McPherson Labs thick enough to trigger silent smoke alarms. Police were simply overwhelmed when they arrived, finding close to four hundred individuals all burning copious amounts of marijuana. As one officer remarked, “That kid hasn’t stopped smoking since I got here fifteen minutes ago! This is just amazing!” With little more than a verbal warning, however, the police kindly disappeared and allowed the show to go on. Such was not the case of the latest SSDP fundraiser.
Campus police, having been alerted to our plans to host another fundraiser (probably a result of one of the hundreds of flyers posted around campus), plotted the demise of the event and even went so far as to send an undercover cop in to pay admission and bust students for smoking marijuana. Knowing that SSDP was already on the campus PD’s radar, organizers made several posted and verbal announcements asking people to wait for an intermission during which people would be allowed to smoke, chat, etc. People simply couldn’t restrain themselves and before the show even started, several joints were ablaze.
After an empowering speech made by a co-founder of OSU’s SSDP, the lights went out and “Grass” was cued, but not even sixty seconds had elapsed before campus police moved in and ordered the movie stopped and that everyone disband. It was a crushing defeat for organizers and attendees alike and so served as a striking reminder of the obnoxious and completely heinous realities of marijuana prohibition.
When all the dust had settled eleven attendees had been served summonses to appear in municipal court; all on drug paraphernalia charges. In attempts to soften the harsh realities of being busted, SSDP members contacted all listed persons who had been accosted during the event. As it turns out, ten out of the eleven people busted were students, the majority of whom were receiving some type of federal financial aid. Because of an amendment to the Higher Education Act, which denies anyone federal tuition assistance if convicted of a drug-related offense, these students could be forced to withdraw from the university if convicted. “I’d rather serve a day or two behind bars than have to lose my financial aid,” remarked Tracey, one of the ten OSU students cited by campus police.
What became apparent after discussing the bust with several of the students was that the campus police had charged several students with drug paraphernalia despite there being only one pipe found amongst two or three people. This is certainly a miscarriage of justice and an intentionally harmful act when considering the ramifications of the Higher Education Act drug provision. At the time this issue goes to print, the students who were cited at the event are still awaiting sentencing. During their initial court appearance, the public defender encouraged everyone to plea not guilty as a means of having the sentence reduced to disorderly conduct, a lesser misdemeanor and a crime that will not result in the loss of financial aid.
It is ridiculous to think that peaceful and enlightening gatherings, such as this SSDP fundraiser, should be prohibited by unscientific and draconian laws against marijuana. It is even more ridiculous that students were put into a situation by the campus police officers where they could lose their financial aid. SSDP will continue to organize to bring sanity to our nation’s drug laws and to fight against the injustices caused by marijuana prohibition. To many attendees of the latest SSDP fundraiser, this was a wake-up call from the local drug warriors. So long as people are unable to be free and secure in their persons and possessions, we must stay committed to reforming and repealing our nation’s drug laws.
Join SSDP Winter Quarter to help end the Drug War. Meetings will be held in the Ohio Union every Wednesday at 7 pm.
SSDP volunteers gathered before the show to prepare the setting by hanging banners and distributing educational materials to attendees of the fundraiser. But nobody was prepared for what would be the beginning of the end of SSDP’s successful movie/raffle fundraisers.
It is no secret to OSU activists and other members of the community that SSDP has been successfully combating marijuana prohibition through educational campaigns and large public demonstrations. It has also been no secret that several of the previous fundraisers hosted by SSDP, have erupted into full-fledge smoke-outs where as many as four hundred people shed the shackles of pot prohibition and ‘lit-up’ in defiance of our nation’s pot laws. But just as it was no secret to the close-knit community of activists, it was no secret to the OSU police department either.
During a fundraiser hosted in the spring, police were alerted to SSDP’s presence because there was clouds of smoke floating through the halls of McPherson Labs thick enough to trigger silent smoke alarms. Police were simply overwhelmed when they arrived, finding close to four hundred individuals all burning copious amounts of marijuana. As one officer remarked, “That kid hasn’t stopped smoking since I got here fifteen minutes ago! This is just amazing!” With little more than a verbal warning, however, the police kindly disappeared and allowed the show to go on. Such was not the case of the latest SSDP fundraiser.
Campus police, having been alerted to our plans to host another fundraiser (probably a result of one of the hundreds of flyers posted around campus), plotted the demise of the event and even went so far as to send an undercover cop in to pay admission and bust students for smoking marijuana. Knowing that SSDP was already on the campus PD’s radar, organizers made several posted and verbal announcements asking people to wait for an intermission during which people would be allowed to smoke, chat, etc. People simply couldn’t restrain themselves and before the show even started, several joints were ablaze.
After an empowering speech made by a co-founder of OSU’s SSDP, the lights went out and “Grass” was cued, but not even sixty seconds had elapsed before campus police moved in and ordered the movie stopped and that everyone disband. It was a crushing defeat for organizers and attendees alike and so served as a striking reminder of the obnoxious and completely heinous realities of marijuana prohibition.
When all the dust had settled eleven attendees had been served summonses to appear in municipal court; all on drug paraphernalia charges. In attempts to soften the harsh realities of being busted, SSDP members contacted all listed persons who had been accosted during the event. As it turns out, ten out of the eleven people busted were students, the majority of whom were receiving some type of federal financial aid. Because of an amendment to the Higher Education Act, which denies anyone federal tuition assistance if convicted of a drug-related offense, these students could be forced to withdraw from the university if convicted. “I’d rather serve a day or two behind bars than have to lose my financial aid,” remarked Tracey, one of the ten OSU students cited by campus police.
What became apparent after discussing the bust with several of the students was that the campus police had charged several students with drug paraphernalia despite there being only one pipe found amongst two or three people. This is certainly a miscarriage of justice and an intentionally harmful act when considering the ramifications of the Higher Education Act drug provision. At the time this issue goes to print, the students who were cited at the event are still awaiting sentencing. During their initial court appearance, the public defender encouraged everyone to plea not guilty as a means of having the sentence reduced to disorderly conduct, a lesser misdemeanor and a crime that will not result in the loss of financial aid.
It is ridiculous to think that peaceful and enlightening gatherings, such as this SSDP fundraiser, should be prohibited by unscientific and draconian laws against marijuana. It is even more ridiculous that students were put into a situation by the campus police officers where they could lose their financial aid. SSDP will continue to organize to bring sanity to our nation’s drug laws and to fight against the injustices caused by marijuana prohibition. To many attendees of the latest SSDP fundraiser, this was a wake-up call from the local drug warriors. So long as people are unable to be free and secure in their persons and possessions, we must stay committed to reforming and repealing our nation’s drug laws.
Join SSDP Winter Quarter to help end the Drug War. Meetings will be held in the Ohio Union every Wednesday at 7 pm.