Students at the University of Maryland two weeks ago joined a growing number of state-school students that have approved an alcohol-marijuana equalization referendum, calling on school officials to reduce punishment for marijuana smokers, bringing them in line with the typically less harsh punishments meted out for alcohol use and possession. UM students voted 65% in favor of the measure; students at UT and Florida State have already approved similar measures. The idea for the equalization initiative began at the University of Colorado, under the advocacy of the grassroots organization Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation; in November, voters in Denver passed the first citywide equalization measure, and SAFER is currently collecting petition signatures in an effort to place an equalization proposal on the state’s November general election ballot.
In other news, 45-year-old Drug Enforcement Administration agent Lee Paige filed suit against the feds April 11, alleging that his career as a federal narc and his reputation as one of the agency’s “best undercover agents” was damaged by the release online of an April 2004 video of Paige shooting himself in the foot during a “drug education presentation” for Florida school children. Paige claims that the DEA “improperly, illegally, willfully, and/or intentionally” released the footage, shot by an audience member, that shows Paige shooting himself in the foot with a 40-caliber Glock pistol “at virtually the same time” that he tells the audience that he was the “only person in the room sufficiently professional enough to carry the firearm.” The footage has made its way through cyberspace and has landed on a host of television shows, including CNN Headline News, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, and VH1’s Web Junk 20. The DEA was given “exclusive control” of the video; Paige never consented to any disclosure of the footage, he argues, and its release has caused, not only his “loss of reputation,” but also a “loss of opportunity” (he says his notoriety now makes it impossible for him to work undercover), as well as “embarrassment, humiliation and anxiety.” He’s seeking unspecified damages.
This article appears in April 28 • 2006.