Campaigns
SSDP's National Campaigns
Overview: SSDP's long-term goal is to end the War on Drugs and bring about a dramatic shift in national and global drug policy - moving away from treating drug abuse as a criminal justice issue and toward treating it as a public health issue. While we work to change hearts and minds, we also have a variety of campaigns that seek to immediately change drug policies that directly impact students and youth.
Campus Change Campaign
As young people, we’ll have to live with the implications and consequences of drug policies for the rest of our lives. That’s why it’s up to us to create more sensible and effective ways to deal with the real and complex issues of drug abuse and addiction. As students on college campuses, we have a unique opportunity to take the lead in formulating and enacting alternative drug policies. More...
The Higher Education Act
Since 2000, students with drug convictions have been blocked access to federal financial aid as a result of a little known provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA). Added as a committee amendment in 1998, the Drug Provision slipped into the 257-page HEA reauthorization bill without debate or a recorded vote. More...
Good Samaritan Policies
Good Samaritan Policies are life-saving measures that enable people to make responsible decisions by shielding them from punishment when they call for medical help during an emergency relating to alcohol or other drugs. Since the threat of punitive policies can often cause hesitation during confusing and stressful situations, the existence of a Good Samaritan Policy is essential to ensuring that people are able to stay alive and receive help when they are in trouble. SSDP is working on enacting Good Samaritan Policies at the campus and state levels. More...
Government Anti-Drug Ads
The government spends millions of taxpayer dollars every year on an offensive and misleading anti-drug advertising campaign, even though scientific studies have repeatedly shown the ads are not only ineffective at reducing drug abuse, but that they may actually increase pro-drug attitudes in teens. More...
Drug Education and Counseling
Drug abuse and addiction are real problems in many schools throughout the country. Clearly, students, parents, and educators need to work together to address the problems that drug abuse presents to schools and communities. Unfortunately, more often than not, the government-sponsored programs aimed at solving these problems actually make them worse, while alienating students in the process. More...
Student Rights and Privacy (Drug Testing and School Searches)
Currently less than 5 percent of high schools in the U.S. perform random drug tests on their students. However, the federal government has recently ramped up its campaign to encourage schools to implement drug testing regimes and even offers grants to fund them. Meanwhile, representatives from drug testing companies are increasingly arranging presentations in front of local school boards to promote their products. As a result, some schools require students to submit to drug testing if they want to participate in any extra-curricular activity. More...
Lower the Drinking Age
American youth alcohol policy is a perfect example of drug policy with unrealistic expectations and serious unintended consequences. Our current policy attempts to prevent underage drinking by criminalizing youth who consume alcohol before they are 21 years old. This is the highest drinking age that exists among all countries in the world, and millions of dollars have been spent on the enforcement of this law. More...
End Zero Tolerance
We at SSDP are working to educate the public about the failure of zero tolerance policies, their predictable, fatal consequences when directed at their target young people, and the violations of basic human rights when zero tolerance policies are enforced.
On The Record
From January 4-10, 2012, about forty SSDP chapter members followed presidential candidates all over New Hampshire right before the state primary. Students put candidates on the spot, asking them questions about their positions on drug policy issues. Within less than a week, they were able to capture videos of Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul. The videos were instantaneously posted on Youtube, which led to several big media hits. The "On the Record" Project will bring drug policy reform onto the national political agenda. More...
