Guest Blogger
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
How the #SSDP2018 Hype Can Help You
Making the Most Out of the Experience of an SSDP Conference Written by Amy Hildebrand, Illinois State Policy Intern The annual SSDP International Conference is nothing short of a whirlwind. A weekend that is filled with moving speakers and impactful panels, reunions with old friends and internet friends and the blossoming of new collaborations, communities and cohorts. I think we
The Conference Crash is Real! How to Decompress after #SSDP2017 – From the Archive
Written by SSDP Alum Irina Alexander. Originally posted March 30, 2017 3 days?! Was that really just 3 days? No way. It’d be against the rules of physics to squeeze that many new lifelong friendships, moving stories, cuddle (and huddle) puddles, and most inspiring panels in SSDP history all into the finite confines of 72 hours… right? If you’re like
SSDP Congress 2018: Call for Student Directors and Chapter Resolutions
From Friday, March 2nd to Monday, March 5th, 2018, SSDP will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary at SSDP2018, this year’s International SSDP Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. In line with our values of democracy, transparency, and accountability, SSDP Congress convenes annually to give each chapter in the network the opportunity to elect new student members to the Board of Directors
Outdated Drug Laws Limit Addiction Recovery Tools
Written by Ian Fignon ’13, alumnus of the University of Connecticut SSDP Chapter. What if current drug laws prevented the use of a substance capable of significantly reducing opioid addiction with a single dose? Despite opioid overdose being the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 – with 91 Americans dying every day from opioid overdose [IF1] – overly
Will we see you at SSDP’s Sensible Celebration?
Green Lion Partners is delighted to host this event with: The Arcview GroupAunt Zelda’sGateway WorksDr. Lakisha Jenkins, ND, RH (AHG)Law Offices of James AnthonyMassRootsMedicine Man TechnologiesMountain MedicineElizabeth NicholsNational Cannabis Industry AssociationTHC Staffing Group Green Lion Partners invites you to join us and Students for Sensible Drug Policy at a Sensible Celebration in Oakland on Monday, June 12. Green Lion Partners is a
Join SSDP in Oakland for A Sensible Celebration
Blue Frontiers is delighted to host this event with: Aunt Zelda’s Dr. Lakisha Jenkins, ND, RH (AHG) Law Offices of James Anthony MassRoots Medicine Man Technologies Mountain Medicine Elizabeth Nichols National Cannabis Industry Association THC Staffing Group Hey friends of sensible drug policy: I’m Randy Hencken, chair of Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s Board of Trustees and CEO of
Understanding Person First Language
Written by SUNY New Paltz SSDP chapter leader Robert Hofmann When talking about drug policy reform, activists will encounter several terms used to describe people who use drugs. These terms can show us preconceived notions of drug users held by individuals who use them. While some people use negative and neutral terms interchangeably, different phrases can conjure up different feelings
New Mexico SSDPers Lobby at State Legislature for the Third Year Running
For this year’s New Mexico Lobby Day, our SSDP chapters joined with several other advocacy organizations for Cannabis Awareness Day at the Roundhouse, including NM NORML (led by SSDP alum and board member Monique Chavez), New Mexico EMPACT, Grow for Vets NM, the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Patients Alliance, and the American Cannabis Nurses Association. While previous lobby days consisted
INTL Youth Convening Day Five: The Bangkok Declaration
Written by Convening participant Eva Cesárova, from Youth Rise and the Czech Psychedelic Society. The last day of the convening started with a guest speaker: Gloria Lai from IDPC’s office in Bangkok. We learned about the remarkable work IDPC has done in the past ten years, going through their various activities to cooperate with drug policy decision makers, organize open dialogues,
INTL Youth Convening Day Four: Coalition Building & Regional Advocacy
Written by Convening participant Florian Scheibein, Deputy Director of Help Not Harm. Jan Stola of Youth Organisations for Drug Action (YODA) kicked off the day with a session on best practice guidelines for conducting risk assessments. We identified, evaluated and categorized risks in our organizational contexts. Concurrently, we developed strategies to reduce their occurrence and severity. Subsequently, we developed
INTL Youth Convening Day Three: How To Be an Effective Advocate
Written by Convening participant Samuel Andrews, Policy and Information Officer at the New Zealand Drug Foundation. The third day of the Youth Drug Strategies Convening was focused on how to be effective advocates for the change we want to see. We were joined in the morning by Dr. Sandro Calvani, who shared his extensive experiences of working with the United
INTL Youth Convening Day Two: Full Spectrum Harm Reduction
Written by Kelly Parra-Alba, a Convening participant and Communications Director for SSDP UK After an enthusiastic start to the week, Day 2 began with a 3 part session on Full Spectrum Harm Reduction and what this could entail for our Global Youth Coalition. The first session included a simple definition of Harm reduction to get us thinking: ‘’Harm Reduction is a
Gana La Mota en USA
Escrito por el líder del EPSD México Héctor Joel Anaya. Este artículo apareció originalmente en La Dosis. Es un hecho Donald Trump fue electo como presidente de los Estados Unidos, y Arizona no obtuvo la mayoría de los votos necesarios para legalizar la cannabis en su territorio. Y a pesar de que el futuro del mercado y de la regulación
Delaying Recreational Cannabis Sales in Massachusetts is Irresponsible
Written by University of Massachusetts Boston SSDP chapter leader Joseph Gilmore The decision by Massachusetts legislators to delay the opening of recreational marijuana dispensaries was both fiscally irresponsible and politically underhanded. The consequences of S. 2524, which pushed the start date for recreational cannabis sales back by 6 months, will negatively impact our communities both socially and economically along with directly
Recapping the 2016 Latin America Regional Conference
Written by Héctor Joel Anaya From 3rd to 4th November, students from around Latin America attended our first Latin American Regional Conference in Morelia, Michoacán. Morelia is one of the states that has been most affected by the Mexican Drug War since former president Felipe Calderon started it ten years ago. The conference was divided into three big topics; health, policy, and
