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April 24, 2003
Volume LIV, Number 26
SerVing UNC Wilmington since 1948
Marijuana misdemeanor
Sarah Broders & Rebecca Riley
THE SEAHAWK
Possession of less than half an
ounce of marijuana is a class 3
misdemeanor unless it is broken
into smaller bags.
According to David
Donaldson, the chief of the
UNCW police department, less
than half an ounce is a class 3
misdemeanor. Between half an
ounce and one and a half ounces
is a class 1 misdemeanor, and
over one and a half ounces is a
felony. You can get up to two
years in prison for a misde
meanor, he said.
Paraphernalia possession is
considered at least a class 1 mis
demeanor. “The penalty can actu
ally be greater for having para
phernalia,” Donaldson said.
Captain Pulley of the New
Hanover County Sheriff’s
Department added, “If it’s broken
up into nickel or dime bags sepa
rately, then it’s a felony.”
“We encounter marijuana fair
ly regularly,” Donaldson said. He
said that this year, from Jan. 8 to
Feb. 12, there were 12 cases of
marijuana possession on campus,
and 5 cases of paraphernalia pos
session on campus.
In fact, police arrest more peo
ple nationwide for marijuana pos
session than any other drug.
“Our intent is to solve the
problem ... you are going to be
referred to the Dean of Students,
then the question is, are there
going to be criminal charges,”
Donaldson said.
Tuition, sales tax
on the rise again
Marijuana’s criminal status
The widespread use has led
many to believe that marijuana
could possibly be legalized.
“With the current crop of
politicians in North Carolina, it>
not likely that marijuana will be
legitimately decriminalized, but
the possibility is there for the near
future,” said Paul Ricardo, a
spokesman for the National
Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws.
Almost 47 percent of
Americans said that they had tried
marijuana at least once, according
to a survey conducted by CNN in
October of 2001.
North Carolina State
University’s student paper, the
Technician conducted a poll last
November and found that 68 per
cent of N.C. State students felt
that marijuana should be legalized
while only 32 percent felt that it
should not.
“Marijuana is so commonly
used it might as well be legal. I
don’t think any crime or death
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in N.C. recently decreased,
rates will go through the roof if it
were decriminaUzed. I think peo
ple will get used to it,” junior
Chris Waldrop said.
An issue of particular rele
vance for UNCW students is a
statute that prohibits students
with drug convictions from
receiving financial aid.
When asked if it would be fair
to provide a student who had a
previous drug offense with finan
cial aid, junior Heather Farrow
said, “Yes; people deserve a sec
ond chance. If someone slipped
up once and got busted, it could
mess up their whole life because
sometimes it’s impossible to go to
school without financial aid.”
“I can understand not granting
scholarships and grants to drug
offenders,” Farrow said. “If they
can reimburse left over aid for
drugs it creates a problem. I work
hard for my money to go to
school with, it would piss me off
to see someone smoking theirs
away.”
Insid* This Issu*
Lorrie Laliberte & Sarah Broders
THE SeAHAWK
The N.C. State House voted
April 17 to increase tuition 5 per
cent for the entire University of
North Carolina system, and to
extend a half-cent sales tax for
two more years.
The two proposals were made
in hopes of making up for the
$1.68 billion shortfall the General
Fund is expecting for 2003-04.
The General Fund provides UNC
schools with a substantial portion
of their funding, so if the General
Fund falls short, then tuition will
likely be affected.
The Senate must now vote on
the proposed budget.
Ken Grogan, special
assistant to the UNC
system, said the
General
Assembly
originally
enacted
State
appropriations
the one-
half cent
sales tax
in 2001. It
was a tem-
p o r a r y ^
measure to
raise additional
income so that the
state budget would be
balanced. The tax was implement
ed Oct. 16, 2001 and is due to
expire June 30, 2003.
Grogan said the tax money is
put into the state’s General Fund.
However, the tax is not earmarked
for any particular agency or insti
tution, it just goes into a “pot,” as
Grogan called it.
The sales tax revenue and
other taxes provide S460.7 mil
lion for the General Fund, said
Jeff Davies, the UNC system’s
vice president for finance.
The entire UNC system
receives close to $1.77 billion in
state appropriations, which is 37,7
percent of the system’s $4.7 bil
lion budget. UNC would loose
$56 million if the tax were to
expire, Davies said. About 1,500
jobs would be lost, including 650
faculty positions.
“We are concerned that if the
sales tax is not extended, the
most likely result is
Tuition x ”
& Fees/ \ Grogan said.
^ ^ This
would most
likely also
have an
effect on
I tuition,
V because
“the UNC
system
schools are
supported prin
cipally by General
Fund appropriations
from the state and tuition and fees
from the students,” Grogan said.
If there is less money in the
General Fund, then tuition will
have to make up for it.
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