Blog

In 2025, SSDP turned momentum into meaningful impact across every level of drug policy reform. From hosting and participating in powerful events that convened students, advocates, and policymakers, to mobilizing young leaders for lobby days that brought student voices directly to statehouses and decision-makers, our movement showed up where it ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Gina Giorgio Director of Strategy and Development Students for Sensible Drug Policy gina@ssdp.org Cannabis Unity Coalition Responds to President Trump's Decision to Reschedule Cannabis, Calls on Congress to Deliver Real Reform Convened by Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), the Cannabis Unity Coalition is the nation's ...

Greenway Magazine featured Kat Murti in their article today after President Trump announced that he has signed an Executive Order directing the federal government to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Criminal justice and public health advocates acknowledged progress while underscoring unresolved issues ...

President Trump signed an Executive Order today federally rescheduling cannabis. This directive will begin the transferring of the plant from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).  Cannabis rescheduling is a step forward, but not justice. At SSDP, we’re fighting for full federal legalization and real ...

Overdose Prevention Sites (OPSs) are life-saving programs where drug users can administer their drugs safely to ensure the risk of overdose diminishes. OPSs remove those struggling with substance use from the streets and into a safe environment that helps connect them to treatment and essential resources related to housing, mental ...

At Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), we believe that science, compassion, and autonomy—not fear and misinformation—should guide public health decisions. The recent push to criminalize 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a natural compound found in kratom, is yet another example of the failed War on Drugs approach that harms people rather than ...

A broad coalition of consumer advocates and drug-policy reform groups recently sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jim Jordan, encouraging Congress not to ban 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a compound related to kratom. The entire letter is included at the bottom of this blog post. The letter argues that ...

SSDP is gathering together in Detroit, MI next week for Drug Policy Alliance's Reform Conference. Our staff, board members, chapter leaders, and ambassadors from coast to coast will be attending the conference, hosting an overdose prevention workshop, and leading panel discussions. We're hosting a welcome party on Wednesday, November 12 ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Gina Giorgio Director of Strategy and Development Students for Sensible Drug Policy gina@ssdp.org Statement from Students for Sensible Drug Policy On the Extrajudicial Killing of Unarmed Fishermen in the Name of the “War on Drugs” Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) condemns in the strongest possible ...

SSDP’s PA Cannabis Day of Unity brought together a bipartisan coalition in support of legalizing cannabis for adult use in Pennsylvania. On Monday, October 27, SSDP hosted a booth in the Main Rotunda of the State Capitol, and dropped off literature to the PA House & Senate in support of ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Contact: Gina Giorgio Director of Strategy and Development Students for Sensible Drug Policy gina@ssdp.org PA Cannabis Day of Unity: Bipartisan Advocate Coalition and Lawmakers Call on Pennsylvania to Legalize Cannabis Advocates call on lawmakers to pass SB 120 and finally bring fair, regulated cannabis legalization to Pennsylvania ...

We call on the Pennsylvania General Assembly to legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis products for adults 21 and older to advance freedom, health and safety, and justice, while generating much-needed revenue for the Commonwealth and its residents. Each year, Pennsylvania authorities make over 10,000 arrests for cannabis possession. This mass ...

Join us on Thursday, October 30th at 7pm ET to discuss the spookiest side of policy, the ones in desperate need of reform! Come hang out with other SSDP folks, give and get advice for a successful semester, and meet our national board members. This event is open to the ...

On 10/20/25, SSDP Executive Director, Kat Murti, testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure in support of An Act to Clarify the Minimum Age for the Sale and Purchase of Adult-Use Products (H.330/S.221). H.330/S.221 directly addresses Massachusetts law with a confirmation that the statewide age ...

We are excited to share that California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 602, the Campus Overdose Prevention Act, into law. The bill protects students from receiving disciplinary action when they call for assistance or are victims of an overdose-related incident. Current campus policies leave students vulnerable to suspension for ...

SSDP is proud to be a co-sponsor for the 4th Annual Florida Harm Reduction Conference taking place at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront from January 26-29, 2026. The call for abstracts and posters are now open. We invite submissions that advance harm reduction practice, research, policy, and community empowerment, especially ...

Last week in Raleigh, we had the privilege of co-hosting a powerful evening with VETS: Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, the North Carolina Psychedelic Policy Coalition, Democratic Representative Eric Ager, and Republican Senator Bob Brinson at the Alamo Drafthouse. Together, we brought community members, Veterans, researchers, and bipartisan policymakers into the ...

Last week, I had the honor of joining The Pearl Institute for their 4th Annual Gathering of the Pearl at the Highland Events Center in Asheville, NC, a night of connection, celebration, and renewal. The evening kicked off with a special gratitude party for sponsors on the rooftop and we ...

Two dangerous ballot initiatives, 25-09 and 25-10, threaten to undermine cannabis legalization in Massachusetts. Since Massachusetts voters legalized adult-use cannabis in 2016, the state has reduced arrests, lowered youth use rates, and created a thriving, regulated industry--but all this is at risk if these measures pass. Don't let prohibitionists take ...

SSDP is submitting a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom's office urging him to sign AB 602, the Campus Overdose Prevention Act. The bill will protect students from receiving disciplinary action when they call for assistance or are victims of an overdose-related incident. Shifting campus responses from punishment to health-centered ...