Under the new policy, students who are caught with marijuana in UNL residence halls face the following penalties: a ticket from police, a mandatory drug class and a call from university officials to Mom and Dad.

We oppose that policy as a whole because it makes absolutely no sense.

Two main reasons why this is true: First, the policy demonizes marijuana use over alcohol use. Second, it treats UNL students like kindergartners. ...

Obviously, students who get caught smoking marijuana should get a ticket; they're breaking the law. A mandatory educational drug class also makes sense. ...

The big problem with the policy is the call to Mom and Dad after one ganja bust.

First, such a policy doesn't jibe with the university's response to alcohol violations. Parents of a student caught with booze don't get a call until the student's third offense.

Marijuana is not a more dangerous drug than alcohol. (We've made this point before.) Therefore, it makes no sense to punish marijuana offenders more harshly than alcohol offenders. It would make much more sense to have a consistent, three-strikes-and-you're-out policy for both alcohol and pot offenders.

In addition helicopter parents be damned college students aren't 12. Even freshmen are adults, and they should be treated as such. ...

Getting caught with pot once does not represent impending doom for a given student. Calls home should be reserved for cases of repeated behavior indicating a larger problem. Then after three strikes, for example parents should be notified. ...

Daily Nebraskan