April 2016
Five Reasons to Engage in Direct Service Work
By Irina Alexander ’07, University of Maryland–College Park, former Board Chair (2010-2012) In my senior year of college at the University of Maryland–College Park, my mind was blown (pun intended) when I found out not all sex workers want sex work to be legalized. Surely, I must’ve misunderstood what my professor was saying? Nope. While the sound of sex work
SSDPer Reflects on SSDP2016 Conference
This past weekend, I attended the 2016 Students for Sensible Drug Policy International Conference in Washington DC. My closest family and friends know how passionate I am about the need for sensible drug policies in the United States and around the world, and this weekend invigorated me for what the future holds in drug policy reform. One of the ideas
Anthony Carrasco of UC Berkeley Wins ASUC Senate Seat
Anthony Carrasco is a sophomore studying Legal Studies and Political Science with a Public Policy minor. Just last week, he was elected as a member of the ASUC Senate with political party SQUELCH! in a race amongst 70 candidates. “What originally got me interested in the campaign was when we started talking about Good Samaritan Policies in SSDP. It was
SSDP Welcomes the University of California Los Angeles Chapter
Meet Christian Kramme, the chapter leader of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at University of California Los Angeles. He is a sophomore majoring in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. About two years ago, he started Green Box Medical Nonprofit with his father, a company that aims to sell cannabis through the vending machine, an innovation fit for the changing cannabis
April Monthly Mosaic: The #SSDP2016 Issue
It’s conference time! Today marks the first day of SSDP2016—the biggest and best SSDP conference we’ve had to date. With UNGASS 2016—a United Nations’ General Assembly special session on “the world drug problem”—around the corner, drug policy reformers from around the world have been working overtime mobilizing, strategizing, and strengthening their coordinated efforts to change global perceptions and policy
Revitalizing SSDP at U.C. Hastings College of the Law
Written by Jeremy “Jay” Schwartz, SSDP Chapter Leader at UC Hastings College of the Law Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) was dormant at U.C. Hastings (UCH) for the last few years. It was an unfortunate result for a club that was positioned to educate future attorneys regarding drug policy and its effects. UCH sits in the legal cradle of
SSDP Welcomes Back the renewed chapter at the University of Miami
Written by Florida Campus Coordinator Colin Fitzgibbon After about a year of inactivity, the Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter at the University of Miami is back with a vengeance. SSDP Florida Campus Coordinator Colin Fitzgibbon, an alumnus of the university who still lives in the area, restarted the chapter from scratch by visiting campus and seeking out new recruits.
16 tips on how to make the most of your #SSDP2016 experience
SSDP2016, the Students for Sensible Drug Policy Conference will commence on Friday! With such an action packed few days, it can be a lot to take in, so I asked SSDP alumni if they had any tips for first-time conference goers on making the most of your conference experience and here are some of their suggestions: “Make/bring business cards.” – Victor
SSDP Welcomes the University of Santa Cruz Chapter
Meet Richard Hartnell, our newest SSDP chapter leader at the University of California Santa Cruz. Why did you want to get involved with SSDP? My ulterior motive is that I want to get involved in psychedelic research — it holds too many clues related to my other interests (consciousness, movement, flow & peak experiences). For as long as psychedelic research is
SSDP Welcomes our Second Chapter at University of North Georgia
Those of you who have been following SSDP for several years will be familiar with our distinguished Board member Jeremy Sharp. Jeremy founded the SSDP chapter at the main campus of the University of North Georgia (UNG) back in August of 2013. Since then, the UNG SSDP chapter has been one of the most successful chapters in the entire SSDP
SSDP2016 Congress
A few details on the upcoming Congress that will be held next week during the 2016 Students for Sensible Drug Policy Annual Conference in Arlington, Virginia: Date, Time, Location (subject to minor changes): SSDP Congress, Part 1 – Candidate Speeches, Q&A 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM Rosslyn Ballroom SSDP Congress, Part 2 – Resolutions & Elections 1:30
Announcing the 2016 SSDP award nominees
10 days from today, at SSDP2016, we will recognize outstanding achievements of our network during the awards ceremony. We’re proud to announce the nominees for each award below. Congratulations and thanks for your hard work! Change Beyond Campus Bowling Green State University California State University Long Beach Irish SSDP chapters Ohio State University University of California Davis University of New Mexico
Meet the 2016 Alumni Association Leadership Board
Last month, the Alumni Association held its first-ever Leadership Board elections, electing an outstanding group to serve in the coming year. The Leadership Board is responsible for coordinating alumni activities and involvement on a regional and national level. Each region has a Leadership Board comprised of a President, Vice President, and Secretary (at least in theory – there are vacancies
Are Drug Policies Protecting Youth?
Written by Sarah Merrigan, SSDP UNGASS Coordinator Intern and member of the Board of Directors “But what about the children?” is a question often asked during conversations about drug policy reform, but rarely answered by the children themselves. However, at this year’s 59th Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Students for Sensible Drug Policy partnered with our global allies to turn the
NY SSDP Students Lobby to End Discrimination on College Application
Written by SSDP NY State Policy Intern and New York University SSDP Chapter Leader Robert Belpasso IOur lobby day aimed to draw support for legislation that would declare criminal history screenings on the college application a discriminatory process. Senate Bill 969, introduced by Senator Velmanette Montgomery, would restrict all New York institutions of higher education from performing criminal history screenings
