Marlie Thompson ’22
Elected Director
Overview
Marlie is a junior at the University of Alabama, majoring in Sociology and Social Advocacy and minoring in Public Policy. She founded UA’s chapter of SSDP in August 2022, and she has been serving as chapter president since then.
In UA SSDP’s first year, they have given out over 1000 fentanyl test strips for free on campus, held many educational events, and worked with UA administrators and student government to implement more sensible medical amnesty policies and provide more comprehensive drug education to UA students.
She is currently participating in the ACLU of Alabama’s Smart Justice Organizing School, studying and learning how to organize around the prison industrial complex. In Summer 2023, she was an intern for the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) helping their team with many daily administrative tasks.
Marlie hopes to be a sociologist, educator, and policy researcher, advocating for social justice and ending stigma and discrimination surrounding drug use.
