Ithaca College is the latest institution of higher education to adopt a SAFER-style measure calling for the equalization of campus penalties for marijuana and alcohol. 

The campus newspaper, The Ithacan, reports :

The initiative will address the judicial discrepancies between the two substances by requiring the same disciplinary and educational interventions for both infractions.

The penalty for marijuana possession is  currently more severe than that for underage alcohol possession.

Senior Ben Malakoff, public relations officer of SSDP, said the obvious disparity between the penalties for the two substances fosters the culture of alcohol use and stifles students from basing their decisions on health and social consequences.

Malakoff said the initiative intends to debunk the common misconception that underage drinking is much safer and more acceptable than marijuana use.

Following passage of the measure at the SGA, the campus newspaper stepped up and endorsed the measure, lending further to the momentum of the effort.

From the editorial:

With new support from the Student Government Association, SSDP could push for a policy change that debunks a common misconception among students. Many believe that, judicially, alcohol is safer than marijuana because of the strict penalties. After their first offense with marijuana, students are on probation. But they receive no more than a slap on the wrist with alcohol. And when society tells us “No alcohol allowed (for a few more years),” people are inherently more lenient in their reprimand for drinking abuse.

If the college wants to dispel the alcohol myth and create a safer atmosphere for its students, it should decrease the disparity between penalties for marijuana and alcohol use. It should lessen the consequences for marijuana possession, but not increase those for alcohol. Upping the ante on alcohol would contradict societal norms and may strain the seemingly open relationship between the college and its students.

This notion is clearly a no-brainer amongst the student population at Ithaca (and elsewhere).  The SSDP chapter carried out a survey of 200 students on campus and, wouldn't you know it, a vast majority believe marijuana is treated more harshly than alcohol on campus and the penalties ought to be equalized, and just about all agreed that marijuana is far safer than alcohol. Click here to see the results.

A record-high 50 percent of Americans support making marijuana legal, according to the latest poll Gallup poll, an increase in four percent from last year.  This time around, just 46 percent said they believe marijuana should remain illegal, a strong indicator that public attitudes toward marijuana are changing quickly.

SAFER's home-state of Colorado is one of if not the most supportive states when it comes to reforming marijuana laws, so we have to assume support here is above the national average.  This certainly bodes well for the 2012 initiative campaign to end marijuana prohibition in Colorado.

We were blown away by this impassioned call for marijuana reform from MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell.  In particular, check out the 2:40 mark where he specifically compares marijuana to alcohol and rips hypocritical lawmakers who "get high" on booze yet punish people who prefer a "non-liquid" high.