Guest Blogger
Introducing California State University Fullerton
Written by Michael Baum ‘20, Chapter Leader of California State University Fullerton How did you hear about SSDP? I heard about SSDP when looking through the MAPS website. Why did you want to get involved/what made you decide to start a chapter? I wanted to get involved because I know a lot of people are harmed by the drug policies
Opinion Piece: After 50 Years of Failure, It’s Time to Rethink the Controlled Substances Act
Written by Trey Brasher ’19 and Elijah Zorro Ullman ‘15, SSDP Scientific Policy Council members (Written to publish on October 27th, 2020 for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) 50 years ago today, on Oct 27th, 1970, the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) was signed into law. Solidifying treatment of drugs as a criminal issue rather than a medical or societal one, the
Global Member Highlight: Isabella Ross ’20
Written by Isabella Ross ‘20, Co-Project Leader of the Just Say Know Peer Education Programme for SSDP University College of London What is your name? My name is Isabella Ross. What SSDP chapter are you a part of? I’m part of SSDP University College London. Where are you from? What is something you love about your country and/or culture? I’m
Introducing Our SSDP Africa Orientation Training
Written by Ruby Rose Lawlor ‘19, SSDP Global Programs Intern In August this year, we began the process of creating this new member training specific to the SSDP African Network to finally meet the requests and needs of our members in this region. SSDP’s African Network is a robust, inspiring, and incredibly active community that have made changes across the
Introducing University of Washington SSDP
Written by Lukas Metzner ‘19, University of Washington SSDP Chapter Leader How did you hear about SSDP? In sophomore year, my partner, who goes to another school, told me about an awesome club she joined that worked on drug policy and education. The work they were doing and the community they were building sounded awesome, so I wanted to get
Introducing UConn Hartford SSDP
Written by Sam Evans ‘20, UConn Hartford SSDP Chapter LeaderHow did you hear about SSDP? I first heard about SSDP through an event that Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) held several years back and have also seen SSDP mentioned on maps.org.Why did you want to get involved/what made you decide to start a chapter? I wanted to get involved and establish
Global Member Highlight: Arvy Kumar ’18
Written by Jacob Chagnon ’17 Jacob: For this week’s Member Highlight, we’re highlighting Aravind ‘Arvy’ Kumar ‘18, former chapter leader at NYU Abu Dhabi and contributing member to the International Organizing Committee. Arvy, my immediate successor at the NYU Abu Dhabi chapter and a dear friend, now lives and works full time in Abu Dhabi since his graduation. Given the
Introducing Los Angeles Community College SSDP
Written by Lucca Pastore ‘20, Los Angeles Community College Chapter LeaderHow did you hear about SSDP?I heard about Students for Sensible Drug Policy through social media. Specifically Instagram, and even more specifically from an account called @25i_nbomeme. The admin of this account posts a lot of funny bilingual memes and also talks a lot about harm reduction on his page,
SSDP Students launch global Black Lives Matter Hackathon
Drug Use and the LGBTQ+ Community – Taking Pride in Harm Reduction
This piece was originally published by YouthRISE Executive Director Ailish Brennan as a Press Release for SSDP Ireland for both Support. Don’t Punish. and Pride Weekend Celebrations in Ireland. Pride has become a time defined by love and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community (LGBTQ+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning and the + is for everyone else who identifies
Introducing Northwestern SSDP
By Rosalind Wang ‘20 and Shareef Jabba ‘20, Northwestern SSDP Co-Chapter Leaders How did you hear about SSDP? Rosalind: I first heard about SSDP on MAPS’ website. It immediately drew my attention, and I was astonished when I found out Northwestern did not have a chapter. I believe organizations like SSDP would contribute a lot to my school. Shareef: I
Introducing University College London
Author: Iulia Vatau ‘20, Chapter Leader Tell me a bit about yourself: what do you study, what are your interests and why have you decided to start a chapter? My name’s Iulia and I am a second-year student at University College London, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in History and Politics of the Americas. My courses introduced me and gradually sparked
‘Medicinal Cannabis ‘ll boost Nigeria’s economy’
Author: Saheed Ibrahim ’18, SSDP Nigeria This article was originally published by The Hope Newspaper, to read the original article click here. President of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), Nigeria chapter, Mr Olufemi Bashorun has advised state and federal governments to exploit the medicinal cannabis market to boost the nation’s crumbling economy. This call came on the heels of
Stigmatization and its Effects on Women Who Use Drugs
Author: Dele Fayemi ‘18, SSDP Nigeria This article was originally published by DPH News, to view the original article click here. According to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which was adopted in 1979, discrimination is defined thus: Any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of the sex which has the
Participate in the Global Drug Survey
Got a spare 15 minutes? The Global Drug Survey wants to know about your drug and alcohol use during COVID-19. The Global Drug Survey (GDS) runs the world’s biggest annual drug survey. Consistent with their mantra of having “honest conversations about alcohol and other drugs”, the GDS asks people around the world about their recreational drug habits through a confidential
Harm Reduction & Drug Prevention: Civil Society’s Search For Common Ground
Author: Jacob Chagnon ’17 One of the most valuable aspects of attending the annual Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the opportunity to collaborate with other civil-society groups. This work extends beyond attending the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)-sponsored programming–the plenary, the side events–and beyond our network of youth-focused civil society, Paradigma. While many Non Governmental Organisations
Leeds University Union Mandated to Supply Reagent Kits to the Student Body
Written by: Matt Port ‘19 SSDP Leeds Chair and SSDP UK Committee Chair This year, Leeds University Union (LUU) passed a referendum that requires them to provide free reagent drug checking kits on campus! This a direct result of the actions of Students for Sensible Drug Policy Leeds, and we’re so excited about working with LUU on making it happen.
The First 6 Months of Starting a Chapter – Trinity College Dublin
Written by Trinity College Dublin Chapter Vice President Amie Hogan ’19. After our President, Eolann Davis ‘19, spoke about establishing a chapter in Trinity, I couldn’t not get involved. I was shocked that something like this didn’t already exist in my university, especially with the increasing amounts of students using drugs. Establishing this chapter was not completely plain sailing. Our
Expectations Vs. Reality: The Concerning Yet Hopeful Nature of UAE Drug Policy
This is an article by former Chapter Leader, Jacob Chagnon ’17, about his experiences running Students for Sensible Drug Policy Abu Dhabi and attending the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. If you’d like to support our non US chapters and our efforts at the United Nations, please donate to the International Activities Fund. One quick Google search about drug laws in
Politics and Harm Reduction: Four Countries’ Syringe Access Stories
This article was originally published by Filter, an online magazine covering drug use, drug policy and human rights through a harm reduction lens. Follow Filter on Facebook or Twitter, or sign up for its newsletter. Drug policy varies greatly among European countries, despite common foundations in UN treaties or EU strategies. In this article I’ll review syringe service programs (SSPs) in four East-Central European countries—the Czech Republic,
The Importance of Drug Checking
Meet Declan Moore ’15 from SSDP Ireland
This post is part of a series highlighting our network outside of the United States. This work would not be possible without the support of the International Activities Fund. I’m delighted to share a blog post written by one of our most dedicated activists, Declan Moore ‘15. Declan won Outstanding Student Organiser 2019 and has been one of our most
The Importance of Staying Involved in our Community: A message from a new Alumni Member
This post is by Rachel Mass ’15 and is part of a series written by SSDP Alumni for #SSDPAlumni Week. Join today! In Spring 2015, the second semester of my freshman year at Kent State University, I decided to attend a documentary screening hosted by the Kent State University chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. The documentary was The
The Power of the SSDP Family: A message from an alum of three chapters
Photo: from left to right, Samantha Wyler ’12, Robert Hofmann ’16, and Rachel Wissner ’11. Credit: Mariah Gaither ’16.This blog post is by Samantha Wyler ‘12 and is part of a series written by SSDP Alumni for #SSDPAlumni Week. Join today! There are many reasons why SSDP is such a special organization, it’s hard for me to think of how
On International Overdose Awareness Day, an Introduction and Call to Action
Written by Kevin Franciotti ’06, Alumni Association Blog Author Today is International Overdose Awareness Day, a day of great significance for many in the SSDP Family. As your new Alumni Association Blog Author, I have chosen this important day to contribute my first blog post and write about my personal experience. It’s not often I’m able to be so forthcoming
