May 2016
SSDP Welcomes the Antelope Valley College Chapter
I’m excited to introduce Timothy Spears Jr., the chapter leader at Antelope Valley College! Read on to learn more about him and his vision for the future of SSDP: Why did you want to get involved with SSDP? I discovered SSDP through MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies). I wanted to join because changing the policies around psychedelic substances is something
So long and thanks for all the CATs
In 2012, I was running the field for Colorado’s Amendment 64 campaign when I was first introduced to Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Drew, the quietly subversive outreach director tasked with mobilizing students on the ground and across the nation in support of the initiative through a phonebank he built. Later that year, he came out to Colorado and couchsurfed
SSDP Welcomes the Quinnipiac University Chapter
I’m thrilled to announce that SSDP has a brand new chapter at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut! Chapter leaders Anthony Arcamone and Bryan Hargrove first contacted me about starting up a chapter a few months ago, and since then have been able to secure recognition for their chapter by the school. I spoke with Anthony about his accomplishments thus far and
SSDP Welcomes the California State Polytechnic University Pomona Chapter
I’m thrilled to introduce Matthew Company, the chapter leader of SSDP at California State Polytechnic University Pomona. Read on to learn more about why he and his leadership team got involved with SSDP! Why did you want to get involved in SSDP? Many substances should be decriminalized and studied so that we can reduce drug-related crimes and promote further study of
Meet The Wets, the SSDP family band
This blog post is part of the SSDP Alumni Association spring membership drive series. Join us today! As evidenced by Rachelle Yeung ’11 the SSDP network has an overwhelming sense of love, community and weird to offer its members. SSDP national conferences are an annual manifestation of this incredible spirit. Any student, alumnus, or supporter who has attended a conference
Maddy's SSDP Alumna Story
I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer. Okay, not always. And actually, not even when I first went to college. In fact, I wanted to be a news anchor, so I studied journalism. I desired to be an objective and reliable source of non-sensationalized information for the general public. Silly me. What was the next best option? Law
May Monthly Mosaic: Mental Health and the Drug War
In 1980, there were 40,900 people incarcerated for drug offenses; by 2013, this number increased to 489,000. The vast majority of drug arrests are for possession, leaving the criminal justice system to address substance use and addiction, which it often does inadequately at best. According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report issued in 2006, slightly more than half
Recovery and Reform: An alum's journey back
Over seven years ago I co-founded the Northeastern University undergraduate chapter of SSDP. As a student in Boston during the 2008 election season, I was thrilled because also on the ballot that year was a vote on whether Massachusetts should decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. Like many young people, I experimented with drugs in high school. While most of my
The SSDP Family: So impossibly good. So impossibly weird.
I didn’t join SSDP while I was in college. I hadn’t even heard of it until far too late into my senior year. If I hadn’t been turned down for an internship during my first year of law school, I would have never co-founded my chapter, and joined a family that has changed my life. I always talk about the
One Year Later: My Experience Transitioning from Student to Alumni Activism
It was almost one year ago exactly that I made that most anticipated walk, away from college and into the rest of my life. For me, like so many others, the bittersweet success of graduation was amplified by the thought of leaving behind my role as an SSDP chapter leader. I was more than confident in our chapter’s future, but
You Think That Excuse Stands?
by A. Kathryn Parker ’06 I’ve heard every excuse in the book for not joining the Alumni Association. Most often, these excuses are flimsy at best. Here are the three excuses I hear too often, and why they’re wrong. “I don’t think I participated in SSDP enough as a student to be in the Alumni Association.” Did you do anything
Kicking off our Alumni Association Spring Graduation Membership Drive
As the spring semester draws to a close, many students will be graduating and moving on from school to the next chapter of their lives. Being a part of an SSDP chapter is a defining part of many students’ college experiences, I know it certainly was for me! The recently launched SSDP Alumni Association aims to provide a framework for
Involuntary Treatment; Worse Than the Disease of Addiction?
Written by Santos Mendez, an SSDP Alumni from Florida State College The purpose of this writing is not to argue how or why I was placed in this facility, but more so to examine the treatment I received while under the direct care of medical professionals for my mental health. I would argue that the treatment offered by this facility
SSDP Welcomes the Willamette University College of Law Chapter
Meet the chapter leaders of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at Willamette University College of Law! Adam Mentzer 1. What does drug policy reform mean to you? Drug policy reform means to me a total change in the way that our legislators view and deal with drug policy as well as an end to marijuana prohibition by the federal government.
Meet SSDP's New Student Directors!
Written by Monique Chavez, Secretary of the Board of Directors This year was the largest conference attended by students engaging in drug policy reform at the 2016 Students for Sensible Drug Policy International Conference. With over 500 attendees and 350 students, it is evident that a massive push towards reform is on the horizon. A crucial aspect of the SSDP conference
SSDP Welcomes Spring Hill College
One of the foundational tenets of Libertarian philosophy is to legalize drugs, for reasons of personal autonomy and to avoid government intervention into the private lives of citizens. This often leads pro- Liberty student groups like CollegeLibertarianss, Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), and Students for Liberty (SFL) to SSDP. This is exactly what happened with the YAL chapter at Spring Hill
SSDP Welcomes our 6th Chapter to the Arizona Network!
Have you ever wondered whether flyering on campus is actually helping you recruit new members and start new chapters of SSDP? Well, in the case of the Arizona State Univesity Tempe chapter and SSDP Chapter Leader Jeremy Poet, they did. A few years ago, as a Freshman at Arizona State University, Jeremy saw a flyer for an ASU SSDP film
SSDP Welcomes the Calabasas High School Chapter
Meet Adison Justis, the chapter leader of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at Calabasas High School. Why did you want to get involved with SSDP? After growing up being inaccurately taught by school programs that all drugs will either ruin your life or kill you only to later realize that this is completely inaccurate, I want to help change the education
Here Is Everything that Happened During UNGASS Week
The long-awaited United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) was a victory on paper for defenders of the status quo, but it’s clear that overall support for the international drug control regime is rapidly decreasing across the world. The weak outcome document, finalized last month in Vienna by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, was adopted on the first day of
Be Kind to People Who Inject Drugs
Think Twice before Posting Clickbait Images of Syringes “Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.” The use of intentional language is something I spend a fair amount of my time thinking about. It’s mostly spurred by the above quote attributed to J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, though I’m positive the sentiment is
Virginia SSDP Chapters Launch "ReVAMP" Campaign
Written by Joe Melton, Vice President of Virginia Tech SSDP On April 20th, a couple months of planning came to fruition for SSDP chapters across Virginia as the ReVAMP campaign was finally kicked into gear. ReVAMP stands for Repealing Virginia Marijuana Prohibition and is primarily an effort to make the voices of Virginian youth heard on the issue of cannabis prohibition.
