The academic penalties for marijuana offenses have been lowered to match the penalties for alcohol offenses beginning this semester, as agreed by the RazorCAT board Aug. 16^th, according to the policy. The RazorCAT board, which is headed by several administrative leaders and serves as a campus disciplinary team.

The policy change, which is a result of the Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) campaign, equalizes the penalties for possession and consumption of marijuana and alcohol on campus and is effective as long as the student possesses misdemeanor amounts of marijuana, which is less than one ounce of marijuana.

This policy change occurs after three years of encouragement from the UA chapter of the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and a referendum passed last April by 67 percent of the student body.

“To have such a large percentage of the students vote for something like this and to actually see a policy change is monumental,” said Rob Pfountz, former president of NORML and a leader in the SAFER campaign. “It’s reinforcing the belief that we actually can change something.”

The UA is the first university in the nation to effectively implement a policy change through the SAFER campaign. While UA is the 13^th university to pass SAFER initiatives through their student body by a voting process, no other universities have been able to finalize policy changes through their administrations.

Read the entire story at http://www.uatrav.com/2010/lightening-up-new-policy-equalizes-marijuana-alcohol-policies/