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Two national groups that help recovering alcoholics and drug addicts are asking Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) to retract his description of them as “drug legalization groups.”
In a Nov. 1 “Dear Colleague” letter, Souder described the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the International Nurses Society on Addictions, which oppose a Souder bill that would penalize students convicted of using drugs, as favoring drug legalization.
In the letter, Souder defended his bill, and told other members it was “facing assault by a small but determined coalition of drug-legalization groups.”
The two groups fired back in a letter issued Monday. “We, the undersigned, want to make clear that opposition to the Aid Elimination Penalty is not in any way dependent on support for broad drug legalization,” the letter said.
“We oppose the Aid Elimination Penalty for numerous reasons. It primarily punishes poor students who rely on scholarships.”
The 17 groups that signed the letter include the Council on Alcoholism and the nurses group, as well as the American Federation of Teachers and the Coalition of Essential Schools. The letter concluded by asking Souder for a meeting to “discuss the issue further, in the hope of finding common ground.”
Souder’s press office did not return calls asking whether the lawmaker would agree to such a meeting.
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