Drug policy on hold in Senate

Although student activists submitted a proposal nearly three months ago to extend this university's alcohol amnesty policy to also include drugs, they've now found the legislation indefinitely stalled while they wait for the state attorney general to issue an opinion.

The university's Legal Aid Office first requested an opinion from Attorney General Doug Gansler's office in November, after undergraduate student senator Brandon Levey proposed extending the Good Samaritan policy — which protects dangerously drunk students from university sanctions if they call 911 for themselves or a friend — to include drugs. But after Gansler's office failed to deliver its recommendation in time for yesterday's Senate Executive Committee meeting, members will have to wait at least another month until its next meeting in March before moving forward with the policy.

"It's just unfortunate that it's been held up for so long because they're waiting for the Maryland attorney general to give his opinion and thoughts on it," Levey said. "This is such an important policy."

Senate Chairman Eric Kasischke said senators need to understand all of the legal implications associated with crafting such a policy. The senate has proceeded with contentious legislation without the attorney's recommendation in the past, Kasischke said, only to have to revise the legislation.

"[The attorney's opinion] is not required, but on the other hand, the committee could be doing a lot of work that would later be rendered moot by the attorney general," he said. "Unless the committee actually understands all of the relevant information needed to consider the charge, they could be wasting their time."

Gansler could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Students initially pushed for an all-inclusive Good Samaritan policy when they began lobbying four years ago, but focused their efforts on getting an alcohol policy passed. After the senate voted to approve the policy in March, activists immediately mobilized to update the policy — and now fear losing momentum in passing such legislation.

Levey contacted the Board of Regents — a 17-member governing body that oversees the University System of Maryland — before submitting his proposal and received the OK to forge ahead with the policy.

Although Kasischke is standing firm on waiting for Gansler's opinion before moving forward, he said he strongly supports Levey's proposal and hopes to set it in motion as soon as possible.

"We seem to be stuck at a standpoint," Kasischke said. "That really bothers us, but on the other hand, we can't charge a committee on a proposal like this that has some legal ramifications to it without really understanding what those are."

Although about 50 universities across the country have implemented an all-inclusive policy — including the University of Georgia, University of Iowa, Washington College in Maryland, William and Mary and Tulane, according to university websites — Kasischke said there are various state laws that prevent the university from simply following suit.

The Student Government Association threw its support behind implementing an all-inclusive Good Samaritan policy shortly after Levey submitted his proposal last semester. SGA President Kaiyi Xie said since it would only prevent students from university punishment — and not legal trouble — the university should adopt the policy.

"The senate wouldn't get rid of the fact that drugs are banned, but if we remove some of the barriers for students potentially calling for help … certainly it's a very helpful thing to students to reduce the number of potential worries they may have in calling for help," he said.

To rally student support and pressure the senate to move forward, members of Students for Sensible Drug Policy have been passing around a petition and have gathered hundreds of student signatures, treasurer Nick Rosenberg said.

Kasischke said although the legislation has been stalled for at least another month, he is still optimistic the senate will review the policy and determine the best course of action.

"Personally, I support the policy; whether or not the senate supports it, I don't know," he said. "I understand the importance of what Brandon has proposed, but we deal with the system, not an ideal world where you say ‘This needs to be done.'"

abutaleb@umdbk.com