Rice SSDP co-founders at the Washington Monument during SSDP2016.
It is with great excitement that I announce the official formation of our 5th established (recognized by the University) SSDP chapter in the state of Texas at Rice University. Located in Houston, TX, Rice is home to the Baker institute of Public Policy, a regional and national leader in the analysis of drug policy and drug policy reform. Two of the Baker Institute fellows, Bill Martin and Katharine Neil Harris, serve as the faculty co-advisors for our Rice SSDP chapter.Rice SSDP is led by co-founders Viviano Solano and Adam Jordahi. Both Viviano and Adam attended SSDP2016 last spring which motivated them to return to Houston and do everything they could to make SSDP an officially recognized entity before they graduate. They were highly successful in ramping up their campus activities during the fall semester and were able to bring four chapter members to the recent Texas Regional Conference in Austin, TX.This spring, Rice SSDP plans to focus on fundraising for the SSDP2017 International conference and working on campus coalition building to conduct a series of “Know Your Rights” events with various campus organizations and collaborators. In addition, chapter members are hopeful to be able to assist with this year’s lobbying efforts at the Texas legislature to push for a comprehensive, whole plant medical marijuana program and cannabis decriminalization. This chapter is definitely on an upward trajectory and I look forward to supporting their work and seeing how far they can go this semester. Watch this space for further updates. Scott Cecil ’10
SSDP Outreach Coordinator “Any system of justice is truly just only if it does not require violence or the threat of violence to be carried out.”
