Here's a NORML email I got today. It has to do with the education that you guys may or may not be able to get. I hate the way emails do when you copy and paste them but I can't help it, guys. Send out the letters and get this provision repealed. NORML is pleased to announce that H.R. 685, which seeks to repeal a detrimental provision of the Higher Education Act that denies federal financial aid to any student with a drug conviction, was recently introduced in the House of Representatives. It is important that you take the time to write your Congressmen in support of this important legislation. According to the Department of Education, a record 48,629 students lost their financial aid eligibility during the 2001-2002 school year because of this provision, while countless others failed to apply altogether because they believed that their past convictions would render them ineligible. It is projected that during the 2002-2003 school year an additional 35,098 students will be denied aid. In total, a whopping 92,841 students have been denied financial aid since the Bush administration started rigorously enforcing this provision. Denying financial aid to students hurts only those students who need the aid, namely, children of lower income families. Children of the well-to-do need not worry about losing their college opportunities; they can afford the quality legal representation necessary to avoid drug convictions as well as the price of tuition without financial aid. Young ex-offenders are likely to be adversely effected by setbacks like the inability to raise money for tuition, and may be sent into a downward spiral toward failure. While no one wants to encourage drug use, neither should we take away an individual's opportunity to obtain an education for such a minor offense as smoking marijuana. Please take five minutes to send a letter to your Congressmen urging their support of H.R. 685. Pre-written letters are available at: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=1466991&type=CO Sincerely, Kris Krane Assistant to the Director NORML #################### NORML Media Watch NORML was featured prominently in several media outlets this week, including The Birmingham News, SignOnSanDiego.com, and the Southwest Times-Record. To read these articles or about other NORML media appearances, check out "NORML in the Media" at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5481 Donate to NORML's "Marijuana Truth Campaign" If you have not already done so, please consider making a donation to NORML's "Marijuana Truth" Campaign. To learn more about this campaign or to read NORML's new report, "Your Government Is Lying to You (Again) About Marijuana: A Refutation of the Drug Czar's 'Open Letter to America's Prosecutors,'" please visit: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5513 Please support NORML/NORML Foundation's efforts to change marijuana policy and educate the public to alternatives to marijuana prohibition. You can join, donate or purchase a NORML-related product online at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3454