History

1996-1997

In the fall of 1996, members of the Student Drug Reform Movement (SDRM) began to chat online using a Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet) discussion page.

In 1997, the Rochester Cannabis Coalition (RCC) at the Rochester Institute of Technology applied to become the first official student organization dedicated to ending the “War on Drugs.” RIT denied RCC’s application and ultimately expelled the lead organizer, Shea Gunther ‘98, who would go on to become an SSDP founder.

1998

SDRM members at University of Massachusetts Amherst hosted a conference for approximately 50 students, many of which would go on to join Shea in founding SSDP. On October 1, 1998, the Rochester Cannabis Coalition renamed themselves “Students for Sensible Drug Policy,” marking our official founding date. That conference led to the First National Gathering in Washington, DC the following year, where attendees decided collectively to form SSDP into a national organization and elect a Board of Directors comprised of one representative from each of the five schools that had chapters operating under the SSDP name (Hampshire College, University of Wisconsin-Madison, George Washington University, American University and Rochester Institute of Technology). SSDP chapters organized and undertook a series of actions and events, which contributed to partial repeal of the Higher Education Act Aid Elimination Penalty (HEAAEP), our first political victory.

January 2000

First National Action. At the College Convention 2000 in New Hampshire, SSDP students protested the HEAAEP.

Spring 2000

First Loan Replacement Program. Hampshire College instituted the first HEAAEP loan replacement program and its president was the first to come out against the HEAAEP. Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) confronted about HEAAEP. Members of SSDP attended an event to get long-awaited answers from Souder about the HEAAEP legislation he authored. Legislation to Repeal HEAAEP. A coalition of U.S. House Democrats introduced legislation that would repeal a moratorium on federal financial aid to college students with drug convictions, citing denial of aid for 8,162 students that school year.

Students vs. Congress, 2001

“SSDP fights hard-line drug laws that cause thousands to lose their student loans.” An article featuring SSDP appeared in Rolling Stone. HEAAEP victim Marisa Garcia was profiled and the article marked SSDP’s big break into public awareness.

Spring 2001

Colleges Urge Change. Five Oregon colleges passed resolutions urging changes to HEAAEP. Thirteen leading education associations representing admissions officers, community and state colleges, financial aid administrators and student groups sent a strongly worded letter outlining flaws in the HEAAEP to the head of the DEA.

April 9th, 2002

Yale Begins Reimbursement. Yale University became the fourth college to reimburse students who had lost aid due to the HEAAEP. Partial Repeal of the HEAAEP Congress, responding to pressure from SSDP and other advocates, scaled back the HEAAEP, taking away its “reach-back effect” so that it would only affect students convicted for offenses that occur while they are enrolled in college and receiving aid.

Spring 2006

SSDP defeated the Department of Education in a lawsuit seeking information about the number of students who have lost financial aid due to drug convictions in each state. When the DoE sought to make us pay an exorbitant sum for our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, we sued, and The New York Times editorialized on our behalf.

March 2011

SSDP held our first federal lobby day during the 2011 SSDP Training and Lobby Day Conference at the University of Maryland. 2011

June 17th, 2011

On the 40th anniversary of Richard Nixon declaring the beginning of the ‘War on Drugs’, SSDP chapters organized candlelight vigils in 22 cities to honor the lives lost by the War on Drugs.

2011

SSDP was granted official consultative status at the United Nations, serving as the only U.S. based drug policy reform organization working hand in hand with the UN’s committee on drug policy.

January 2012

Dozens of SSDP members took over New Hampshire before the 2012 primary, attending the College Convention and several other events across the state. Within the span of a few days, we were able to capture videos of all GOP presidential candidates answering (or hilariously dodging) our questions about their stances on drug policy issues.

November 2012

Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize cannabis for adult-use. SSDPers made 17,882 calls to voters under 30 in Colorado to pass Amendment 64.

October 2013

Betty Aldworth joined SSDP as our Executive Director.

2013

SSDP launched our Campus Policy Gradebook, later re-named our U.S. Campus Policy Gradebook, as a resource for students, administrators, and other members of campus communities who seek to ground their approach to drugs in health, safety, and education.

April 2014

A delegation of seven students from three countries represented SSDP at the 57th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND).

2014

Congress passed an amendment to end federal interference in state’s medical marijuana programs.

2015

The SSDP Chapter Activity Tracker was created. The CAT gives SSDPers the opportunity to earn points for activities and redeem those points for benefits, improves collaboration and competition among chapters, and keeps our outreach team connected to campus activities. In addition, we launched SSDP’s Alumni Association, a program that provides a framework for SSDPers to stay connected and involved after graduation.

2016

More than 150 SSDPers attended the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on ‘the world drug problem’ and fought backlash and insults from the drug war supporting status quo.

October – November 2016

SSDPers made 70,000 voter contacts in states with marijuana-related ballot measures.

2016

SSDP’s peer education program, Just Say Know, was launched.

2017

For the first time, SSDP had chapters in all six habitable continents.

2020

SSDP’s Psychedelic Career Development Pipeline was created. SSDP partnered with key stakeholders to develop the Psychedelic Pipeline as a global network to connect SSDP members and alumni who are interested in working in the field of psychedelics to quality mentorship, training, scholarship funds, and career development opportunities, with a deliberate focus on providing access to people of color.

November 2020

Oregon became the first U.S. state to decriminalize personal drug possession.

December 2020

The HEAAEP was fully repealed by Congress, marking a major victory for SSDP and the Unlock Higher Ed Coalition.

February 2021

Jason Ortiz joined SSDP as our next Executive Director.

TODAY

SSDP’s efforts to repeal the HEAAEP provided a model that led to the development of our grassroots activation model and student network. The actions, educational events, and collaborations undertaken to modify the HEA led to – among other things – International and Regional SSDP Conferences, that continue to provide students with the best opportunities to become informed advocates. The 2001 Amherst Coffee Ban was among the first student-led and campus-based actions to confront the role of drug prohibition campuswide; inventive and thought-provoking campus actions continue to grab students’ attention to illustrate the harms of prohibition. Modeled after the public conversation with Souder in 2002, Students publicly pose questions to candidates and elected officials to get them “on the record” about drug policy reform. To this day, SSDP seeks to build bridges with organizations not primarily focused on the “War on Drugs” to end collateral consequences such as over-incarceration, racism, and educational and economic injustice. Looking to join our movement? Email outreach@ssdp.org to start a chapter or get connected to one!