Thor Benson / Cannabis News Box Contributor

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has introduced a bill that would allow students who have drug convictions on their criminal record to receive financial aid. As things stand, the widely used Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form asks students if they have ever “been convicted for the possession or sale of illegal drugs for an offense that occurred while you were receiving federal student aid.” This bill would help remove that question so students who have cannabis convictions won’t be blocked from receiving funds.

“Having a marijuana-related conviction on your record can result in a wide variety of consequences, including loss of employment, inability to gain new employment, loss of public benefits, or even issues involving child custody,” Mason Tvert, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, told Cannabis News Box.

With all of the problems you can face from having even just one cannabis-related conviction on your record, cannabis advocates say being blocked from receiving financial aid should certainly not be a consequence for this kind of conviction.

“We know that when a student completes the federal financial aid form, he or she is more likely to receive aid, attend college, and graduate from college,” Booker said in a press release. “But sadly, less than half of today’s high school students complete the form, and students from underserved backgrounds complete the form at even lower rates than their peers.”

Cannabis advocates argue that the people who need financial aid the most, which is often people of color from less than wealthy backgrounds, are often discriminated against because of questions like this one on the FAFSA. Communities of color have been disproportionately targeted by the War on Drugs, so people of color are more likely to have cannabis-related offenses on their record.

Tvert said even states that have legalized cannabis have been lagging on updating policies so that people with past convictions related to cannabis are not discriminated against, but things are slowly starting to improve.

“Some states have directly addressed some of the consequences associated with marijuana-related convictions, but there are states where these issues are continuing to arise,” Tvert said. “Unfortunately, it is a tricky area of the law, especially when federal law comes into play.”

Tvert pointed out that Colorado still allows employees to be fired for consuming cannabis, even though it’s been legal in the state for years. This is because courts argue that it’s still illegal under federal law, so they won’t prevent these employees from being punished. Legalization is an important step for states and the country as a whole, but we also need to address the system that has allowed discrimination against those who have past convictions.