Chandler Huffman
Support Illinois Overdose Prevention Sites!
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 health support, and more. Illinois is hoping to pass HB0893,
SSDP Joins Letter to Protect 7-OH (Kratom related Substance)
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 the FDA’s push to schedule 7-OH under the Controlled Substances
SSDP Testifies on Age Protections in Massachussetts
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 for purchasing legal substances (including alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco) is
Stop Cannabis Recriminalization in Massachusetts!
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 away the great progress Massachusetts has made in advancing cannabis equity! If passed,
Support for AB 602, California’s Campus Overdose Prevention Act
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 approaches through counseling, education, and treatment options ensures students can
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act Has Been Reintroduced
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) applauds the reintroduction of the MORE Act as a critical step toward dismantling the failed war on cannabis. For far too long, cannabis has remained classified as a Schedule I substance; defined as having a “high potential for abuse with no recognized medical use.” Despite 24 states fully legalizing cannabis and 47 states permitting
SSDP and Coalition Letter on Fentanyl and Fentanyl Analogues Sentencing
SSDP recently joined with the Drug Police Alliance (DPA) and a large coalition of public health and criminal justice organizations to urge the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) to reject increased sentencing requirements for fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and other synthetic opioids. In a public comment submitted to the USSC, the coalition stated that the history of prohibitionist drug policy in
Rethinking Drug Scheduling: SSDP Speaks at the United Nations
Better Drug Control Policies Through Expediting Scientific Research On February 25, 2025, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2011, submitted a written statement to the 68th Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). Prepared by Dr. Elijah Zorro Ullman, former Chair of SSDP’s Science
