Rep. Mark Souder Resigns!

Rep. Mark Souder, the man who authored the HEA Aid Elimination Penalty, has resigned after acknowledging an affair with one of his female staffers. SSDP and the congressman from Indiana have a lot of history. In fact, if it weren't for Souder, SSDP might not even exist.

Souder has been one of the most vicious drug warriors in Congress. The HEA Aid Elmination Penalty has resulted in the loss of financial aid for over 250,000 students and he has done his best to oppose medical marijuana legislation. In the Showtime documentary, In Pot We Trust, you can see SSDP's new executive director Aaron Houston attempting to lobby this "foaming at the mouth prohibitionist" about medical marijuana.

Souder was chairman of that subcommittee between 2001 and 2007. During those years, nearly 200,000 students were denied college aid for drug violations, according to data unearthed by a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), a longtime nemesis of Souder. (Here's Souder complaining the student group "harassed" him in his home district.) In Souder's own state, 8,903 students were denied aid during that time.

Opponents of Souder's law argued that it would be difficult to craft a more counter-productive public policy. Souder responded by calling those opponents -- largely teachers organizations and church groups -- a "small but determined coalition of drug-legalization groups."

This is a huge victory for anyone who supports sensible and evidence based approaches to both drug policy and sex education for youth. Souder's open seat gives Democrats an unexpected opportunity.

For a real good laugh, watch this video below of Souder being interviewed by his mistress, Tracy Jackson (also married), about his testimony in support of, you guessed it, abstinence only sex education.

Amendment Withdrawn!

In short - we won the battle. Rep. Mark Souder withdrew his amendment to bar financial aid from students with drug possession convictions. He said " I was probably going to lose today."

This war ain't over though. A compromise to the amendment will be made in conference committee and it is expected that students convicted of felony drug crimes will still be unable to get aid for college. Still, this is a huge victory for us and we can expect significantly less students to be forced to drop out of school because a man from Indiana thinks they should be punished twice for the same crime.

You rock SSDP. You did this. It was your calls to congress. Your grassroots action. Your dedication to this organization and its mission for a fair and sensible drug policy. Look around on your campus. How many other student groups have been able to change federal law?

If you're feeling inspired, make a donation today to help us keep this momentum going!

Souder Gets Burnt.

Congressman Mark Souder of Indiana, the man behind the HEA Aid Elimination Penalty made a fool of himself on Tucker Carlson's show.

Attempting to defend the ONDCP's failed anti-marijuana propaganda ads, Tucker Carlson catches the congressman in a lie. Souder adds some extra stink to his usual bullshit with this:

"Furthermore, the THC content of BC Bud, Quebec Gold and this marijuana that's currently on the streets isn't like the Cheech and Chong marijuana. It's more like cocaine."

Once Souder says marijuana is like cocaine, Carlson is on his ass like white on, well... cocaine:

Carlson: ... and how many people died from marijuana overdoses last year?

Souder: Uh, if you count the, uh, uh, amount of crime associated with marijuana...

Carlson: No, no, just marijuana overdoses. Just the drug itself, which you said is like cocaine now. How many people died from it?

Souder: Uh, I don't, I don't, uh. 65 percent of emergency room admissions for drug abuse are marijuana.

Carlson: Huh. OK. But did anyone die that you know of?

Souder: Uh, presumably so, thousands have died, the only question is, you said "overdose" --that isn't even most of the deaths related to prescription drug or to cocaine or heroin -- there's a whole range of drug crimes and so on. I don't know the number of overdose. Marijuana is often managed ah, with meth -- no drug user is a single drug user so marijuana is often in the mix of most deaths so it would be very hard to separate what's what. A marijuana user is very seldom just a casual marijuana user, ah, except in the early stages, they're often gonna polydrug.

Carlson: Yeah. OK. I'm not endorsing drugs, but I know a lot of casual marijuana users, so, that's wrong.

Souder even points to the fact that it is the crime associated with marijuana that causes deaths. That crime is in fact associated with pot prohibition. A plant cannot commit crimes.

Mr. Souder, what a poor argument you have put up for marijuana prohibition. It was down right pathetic. Your lying makes drug use even more dangerous to teens. Teens know marijuana is not going to kill them. When you lie and say marijuana today is more like cocaine compared to the marijuana you smoked in college, do you seriously think that will be a deterrent to drug use?
Your misinformation is a gateway drug. Grow up Congressman. Your not half as mature as the thousands of young students that won't be returning to school next year because of you.