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The Red and Black
Tuesday February 3, 1970
Senate Bill Eases Penalties for Drug Users
X AI m v e w isT m'iVimum Lnntniuei 1 k-.n I k#> e i
ByW F. TAFT
Assistant News Editor
The passage of a U S Senate
bill last Wednesduv to cut
sharply federal penalities for
the use and sale of dru^s. rang
ing from marijuana to heroin
was seen as sensible and
“responsible legislation here
by John R Curbs. M D . direc
tor of the University Health
Service
Under the bill to amend nar
cotic. depressant, stimulant
and hallucinogenic drug laws,
there is a provision for first
offense cases in which the court
may without entering a judg
ment of guilty place the abuser
on pp jtion and the person
could even escape without any
criminal record
COU.EGK OR high school
youths picked up with posses
sion of marijuana or other dan
gerous drugs would face a light
er maximum sentence than the
current law provides under the
new bill which was approved
and sent to the House on an 82
to 0 vole.
A first offense for possession
would carry a maximum sent
ence of one year, a S5.0U0 fine
or both while under present
federal laws, a *wo to 10-year
A special se< aon of the bill
doubles the sentence *o a stnb*
otors of drugs to persons under
18 years of age if the distributor
sentence, grant probation, or
even cancel the conviction But
under the present laws a 5 to 20-
year prison term is mandatory
is over 18 and three years sen
ior to the youth
Moil people who hove done research in the Held
of drugs are relieved to know that the penalities have
been lessened."
sec" no- ■s .tnposo'
A scci ,nd offense would carry
a maximum of two years, a fine
ol not mce than $10,004). or
both A ju>v could suspend the
for a second offense
THE LEGISLATION, how
ever, would crack down on drug
traffic by crime syndicates
with stiff sentences for push
ers It pmv.des a five-year
sentence for *ie first convic
tion and 19 years for the sec
ond
i.. ... . . .■. .V.V.VW.V,V/.V//.V7AV.V.'.V.V.-,
Also in the bill, distribution
ol a small amount of drugs for
ptisonai use or sale without
profit would be subject to a one-
vear term A second conviction
would call for a maximum of 10
years
I'nder preset, la .vs a 5 to 20-
year sentence is required for
selling even a ew marijuana
cigarettes, the first time
The bill was strongly en
dorsed by the Nixon adminis
tration as part of anti-crime
legislabon and applies only in
federal sentences, but the ad
ministration hopes it will set a
precedent for state laws
Most people who have done
research and work in the field
of drugs." Dr. Curtis said, "are
relieved to know that the penal
ities have been lessened This
will minimize the argument
that penalities have been ex
cess and unfair "
Curtis rules out the possibili
ty feared by some that the bill
is the first step toward legaliza
tion of marijuana "Instead .
he said, "this is the first step
toward making laws more real
istic.
IN MANY cases abusers
have been very helpful in giving
information leading to arrests
of distributors and pushers, the
main (oncem of authorities in
drug problems Under present
laws, it is mandatory that stiff
sentences be handed to these
persons for the minor offenses
Many people have argued
that marijuana is no more dan
gerous than alcohol." Dr Cur
tis pointed out. "but this
doesn't justify leagalizing it.
"Alcohol is addictive physi
cally. but marijuana is more
addictive mentally. The real
danger in using it is the time
distortion; everything seems to
move more slowly A student
will think he has his foot on the
brake when he has it on ihe gas
"LN RARE occasions mari
juana has produced hallucina
tions and psychosis, otherwise
harsh laws "haven't stopped
drug abuse and there should be
no change under reasonable,
moderate laws The value is
that unrealistic laws can t be
enforced; realistic laws can be
enforced "
The drug problem on cam
pus". he noted, "is not a major
has been judiciary practice to Services and chairman of the one There has been a slight
increase over the past year
awa e r X e P ofXIn e gers Wh °
There is misunderstanding
there seem to be no physical
addictive properties."
Edward T. Ka&singer. direc
tor of Public Safety, pointed out
the value of the sections of the
legislabon that does away with
manditory sentences such as
required 5 to 20-year sentences
for second abuses today. "It
y. law enforcement can be
helped rather than hindered by
hesitant judges and jurors."
Kassinger stated T expect to
see more convictions result
from the bill because of the
more reasonable provisions
Steve Roberts. Student Gov
ernment advisor to Health
under present laws, they are penalized greatly for this
curiosity. 1 '
-.VWggAWAWWW.V
leave these decisions with the
judge and the new law permits
this
With this important lead
way on the part of the judiciar-
Cuban Revolt Aim
American Business
PhotoDy HOB NOVIT
ATLANTA
PHIPPS PLAZA
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TCL 404) 201-0070- ZIP J0J20
By DWIGHT OTWEU
Staff Writer
The Cuban revolution of 1959
and the overthrow of dictator
Fulgeneio Batista did not make
the Cuban people free First,
they had to overcome the con
trol of American big business
This, at least, was the view
presented last week by Edward
Boorstein. former minister of
foreign currency under Fidel
Catro. in a speech at Phi Kappa
Hall.
THE REVOLUTION in
Cuba was not just a revolution
to get rid of Batista," Boor
stein said "The real problem
was to get rid of American cor
porations Cuba needed a situa-
tion where they could control
their own economy."
AFTER THE REVOLUTION. ’
| United States had one billion
dollars invested in Cuba. Boor
stein pointed out The Ameri
can corporations had money
and power They could do what
they wanted, and the Cuban
people had to accept it, he said.
"How was the Cuban econo
my going to grow with the Unit
ed States controlling it and
he
Omicron Delta Kappa, national honorary leadership society,
initiated its winter quarter neophvtes in ceremonies at the Mil-
ledge Avenue Baptist Church. Jan 29 Pictured prior to the ini- slupln,! ln al1 lhe im P° rts '
Uabon ifront to back i Mike Howell. Frank Petroski Kyle " "*f ted J obs ln
Brannan. fader Cox Brooks Franklin Harry Scott. Mike
Wright. Jerry Gutherie. Bo Bolander
REVOLUTION doesn’t
produce great changes over-
n lo»o«’ to co""" 1 " tgittel
Y . « **'
, n -oho.’ '"'" to co*-"'7 wl .„«i
It react* 1 * 0 " max'* "*
to bee 0 " 1 * * U ‘ 3 ,aet.«9 01 ” * Matte 1 Sate*
P d ^ ol *• ^ few aid*
-u, \o „ -.atkcv""* Matt 0 '
1 •" °"" e ,0 C
' .ea'' on ’°" 0 ! tne.e ' (ou ", * ,dnt«'-
"'* ke 1 cha 1 '* 1 '®** ^top oui ,nve " ,o, a too 9*
" ** " - " >d V,o PB-
. seme ’
u '« ad Vto **■
££ woo txou|0^ uctpuc .- iel l5 \C.
p,oud to
night," Boorstein said "It
made Cubans their own boss
The country is poor now. but its
economy is growing In seven
years the work of the people
will start to be fulfilled, he
predicted
Boorstein explained his con
cept of U S imperialism by
reviewing U S. involvement in
Cuba The United States start
ed to invest in Cuba after the
end of westward expansion, and
by 1895 they had invested 30 to
50 million dollars there, he
said
The Cubans were fighting the
Spanish-American War to gain
their freedom The United
States entered because they
wanted to protect their invest
ment, he explained
AFTER THFI United States
had defeated Cuba, they decid
ed they did not want to take the
chance of another country tak
ing over Cuba Although they
were on Cuba's side in the war.
they forced military occupation
on her for four years until 1902
Then American corporations
dominated Cuba until after the
1959 revolution, he said.
"Cuba is just an example of
the situation that exists from
the Rio Grande down to the
Straits of Magellan. Borstein
declared "The United States
controls it all In the United
Ntions. all the Latin American
countries vote the same as the
United States About 85 per
cent of Latin Americans live in
poverty Revolution could re
sult any time It's going to
blow." he exclaimed
"The troubk- is not with U. S.
presidents." he said "They
come and go, but big corpora
tions stay '
SINCE THE Cuban missile
crisis, the United States hasn't
bothered Cuba much, because
they have been bugged down in
Vietnam, according to Boor
stein. By 1975 maybe the United
States will be out of Vietnam
Then the trouble will start, he
asserted.
Hunger and poverty were the
main causes of the Cuban revo-
lubon. according to Boorstein.
The average per capita income
was less than $100 per year, he
said Over 90 per cent of the
people in the countryside never
ate meat, and 25 per cent were
illiterate. There were no
schools or hospitals in large
parts of the country, he added
"The reason Cubans were
poor," he expiainnd, "was be
cause Cuba had a one-crop
economy Sugar provided 80 per
cent of Cuba's exports and paid
for 75-80 per cent of her im
ports About one-fourth of the
labor force was n sugar, which
is a seasonal industry The sug
ar-cutters worked only three
months out of a year. The rest
of the year they were essential-
rlv unemployed
“THE WORLD market for
sugar goes up and down, " Boor
stein said During World War I
the sugar industry did well, but
after the war and during the
depression the price of sugar
fell from the 1921 figure of 21
cents per pound tc less than one
cent per pound The sugar crop
in 1955 was no bigger than that
30 years earlier, but the popula-
tigp had doubled." he said
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ATHENi' tAKGttT JMOE CTOR£
, Nnre |<C9
\M K\>l cm ION DOW Mow \ \HIK\>
Drug Awareness Committee,
noted the need for the new
changes because "umany cases
the students are just experi
menting out of curiosity and
under present laws, they are
penalized greatly for this curi
osity
I am glad to see that the bill
still provides stiff penalities (or
pusher." Roberts said "I feel
penalities should go up for the
pushers — the people who make
money by selling these danger
ous drugs "
"Our law enforcement policy
on campus ", Kassinger noted,
"is to seek out those who make
profit off selling drugs and see
that they get the maximum
sentence."
DR. CURTIS also dislodged
the fear that more people will
begin using drugs as a result of
the bill He noted that current
of the size of the problem on
campus People who smoke
marijuana feel that everyone is
doing it because everybody that
they associate with is And peo
ple who are not smoking mari
juana feel that no one is doing it
on campus
"THE LAW. though, is not
the way to handle the drug
problem." Curtis said It will
and must be handled through
education, not only in college
but In high schools. Most stu
dents on drugs have already
used them before coming to
college. The literature on ef
fects of the drugs has been dis
torted and we need to be care
ful about the facts "
The passage of the new bill.
Dr Curtis hopes will help get
the subject of drugs out of the
area of morality." “It's not
whether it's right or wrong to
take drugs", he said. "The
point is that it is dangerous to
take them "
EXCHANGE CORNER
Three on Board
MOOREHOUSE COLLEGE — One of the grievances
which students at Morehouse College made last semester was
that they were not represented on the Board of Trustees This
aemand was met by the Board of Trustees when three student
representatives were elected to the Board, the students elected
were Howard Jeter, senior; William Rudolph, junior and Cecil
Brim, sophomore
• ••
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE — A tenants union for UT
students living in off-campus housing was proposed last week
by the Student Government Association
The proposal would have the union offering 10 per cent cut
for members, a discrimination ban. school year leases. 50 per
cent cat in damage deposits and a tenant-landlord complaint
board. The proposed union would also protect and help lan
dlords. who would be guranteed rent collection, a means for out
of court settlement of grievances and a multiple listing service
to maintain maximum occupancy.
• ••
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY — A group known as Stu
dents for Environmental Defense actively fights air and water
pollution on campus. They picked up 26*000 empty cans along
the banks of the Mississippi River, and they buried an internal
combusition engine in a mock funeral protesting pollution
caused bv automobile e :haust.
• •a
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE — A bail fund of up to $3,000
was established by the SGA to provide bail for the 21 students
arrested in a campus demonstrabon protestingthe selection of
Dr Fldward J Boling as president of UT
• ••
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA - The Student Sen
ate has set up a committee to hold hearings for registration
priorities Each student trying to obtain a priority will present
his proposed schedule and the reason for requesting a priority
to the committee
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE - The Associated Women
Students Council unanimously voted last week to dissolve their
organization A resolution rmde by the AWS president stated
that the organization s goals had been examined and accom
plished It further declared that the future of AWS was "unnec-
essary "H to continue existence we must search for a function
to fulfill, our uselessness is apparent "
• ••
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE at Chattanooga - The
members of one sorority had fun kidnapping five boys from dif
ferent fraternities - then called the boys respective fraterni
ties and demanded their weight in food as a ransom Over 900
pounds of food was brought in and distributed by the sorority to
needy families in Chattanooga
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