Students should question pot-smoking classmate

Editor,

Last week before class, a classmate approached me smoking marijuana rolled with tobacco in cigarette form. Once in class, the student announced that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 literally removed the Bill of Rights from the U.S. Constitution, with the exception of the Third Amendment. Absolutely no one in class challenged this announcement, but instead seemed to accept it

as truth.

The following week, I brought in copies of the Bill of Rights, a copy of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, a copy of the lawsuit that inspired the act and copies from a textbook defining the concept of groupthink. I did indeed make a reference to my classmate smoking weed before issuing his announcement as I attempted to prove his statement false. The class was overwhelmingly silent, as usual, but one other student claimed that marijuana smoking was religious, implying that it was acceptable to use at any time.

Personal convictions aside, I really don't care if people smoke pot, as long as it doesn't interfere with school or work. Also, I can certainly understand the concern that civil liberties are narrowing since Sept. 11, 2001. However, if this student respects the rule of law so much, he should consider that marijuana is illegal at the federal and state level, and that the use of marijuana before class is a violation of the UNM drug-free campus policy.

Law Chavez

UNM student