July 2019 SSDP Report Card

Note from staff 

The Students for Sensible Drug Policy report card is back! After a hiatus, we’re excited to share the July SSDP report card. The Report Card is where you can learn about what chapters are up to, see where we’ve been featured in the news, learn about the newest SSDP activists and chapters, upcoming events, recommended reading, and more.

Across the globe, SSDPers have been working to oppose harmful legislation, support a groundbreaking US cannabis legalization bill, conduct overdose response training, and host wildly successful Support Don’t Punish events. Thank you for staying in touch and committed to our shared vision to end the War on Drugs and start making sense!

CAT leaderboard

1. DePaul University
2. University of Pittsburgh 
3. University of Texas Austin
4. SSDP Ghana
5. University of California Santa Cruz
6. Ferris State University
7. Yale University
8. University of Vienna
9. University College Cork
10. United Methodist University

Stats

• 7,132 CAT points logged this program year
• 1,110 communications to elected officials
• 265 new digital advocates 
• 170 care packages assembled for the upcoming semester
• 2 new SSDP certified Just Say Know peer educators
• 2 new countries in which we are active

New activists and chapters

• Adler University (Illinois, United States)
• Apex Friendship High School (North Carolina, United States)
• Catholic University of Bukavu (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• Elon University (North Carolina, United States)
• Illinois State University (Illinois, United States)
• Oakland Community College (Michigan, United States)
• Point Pike University (Pennsylvania, United States)
• SSDP Uganda (Uganda)
• Texas Tech University (Texas, United States)
• University of Arkansas at Little Rock (Arkansas, United States)
• University of Chicago (Illinois, United States)
• University of Houston (Texas, United States)
• University of North Carolina Charlotte (North Carolina, United States)
• University of Hawaii at West Oahu (Hawaii, United States)

Network highlights

• Adebisi Yusuff Adebayo ‘19, president of University of Ibadan SSDP, represented SSDP Nigeria at the Global Forum on Nicotine 2019 Conference in Warsaw, Poland and discussed the international perspective on tobacco harm reduction and the state of tobacco harm reduction in Nigeria on a panel.
• Fahad Chikija ’19, Kaduna State Coordinator for SSDP Nigeria, received the “Award of Honour” from the Global Socio-Economic and Financial Evolution Network in acknowledgment of his outstanding contribution to global peace, good leadership, and humanitarian services.
• SSDP Nigeria members, along with Knowledge and Orientation over Drug Abuse and the Ogun State Drug Control Board, met with a tribal leader in Abeokuta Ogun State to request support for better drug policies in Nigeria. 
• The Nigerian Tribune covered SSDP Nigeria’s Support Don’t Punish day of action, which drew hundreds of attendees.  

• SSDP Sierra Leone hosted a Support Don’t Punish event during which the Minister of Youth Affairs, Hon. Mohamed Orman Bangura, said “In my opinion as a minister representing the youth of this country, contrary to punitive actions on drugs and young people affecting youth development, I say, for so many benefits of medical cannabis including medicinal, economic and touristic purposes, it is good we legalize cannabis based on the above mentioned and the government is working on that.”

• Louisa Munk ‘19, president of University of Southern Maine SSDP, wrote an op-ed calling for passage and enactment of Maine’s Act To Address the Opioid Crisis through Evidence-based Public Health Policy. 
• Caton Liang ‘19, founder of the brand new chapter at University of West Oahu, met with school administrators to advocate for reduced penalties for campus drug offenses.
• Hannah Westphal ‘19, founder of the brand new chapter at Illinois State University, was interviewed by Psychedelics Today on their Instagram story.  
• University of California Santa Barbara SSDP reported that they made important progress on campaigns to improve the school’s Good Samaritan 911 policy and decriminalize drug checking kits, in addition to hosting four major campus events.

Upcoming events and days of action

• Available to stream any time | Everywhere | Cannabis Economy’s Digital Workshop with Amanda Reiman ‘98, Shaleen Title ‘02, and Betty Aldworth
• August 31, 2019 | Everywhere |  International Overdose Awareness Day
• October 2-4, 2019 | New York, NY, USA | Arcview Investor Forum with Troy Dayton ‘98
• October 3-5, 2019 | New York, NY, USA | INCBA Cannabis Law Institute with Lauren Mendelsohn ‘09
• October 16-18, 2019 | Vienna, Austria | United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs: Intersessional meeting, sixty-second session 
• October 24, 2019 | St. Paul, MN, USA | Minnesota Cannabis Summit with Betty Aldworth
• November 9, 2019 | St. Louis, MO, USA | International Drug Policy Reform Conference 
• March 27-30, 2020 | Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC, USA | SSDP2020: The Global Students for Sensible Drug Policy Conference and Lobby Day

From the SSDP blog

• One Last Ask
• Farewell from Jake Agliata ‘11, Welcome Róisín Downes ‘15
• Use your CAT points to get to the Reform Conference this fall
• Support. Don’t Punish. Global Day of Action Around the World 
• Introducing our new Movement Building Fellow, Robert Hofmann ‘16
• Demanding Marijuana Justice on the Federal Level
• We Deserve MORE: Historic legislation centers justice in cannabis reform
• Meet Declan Moore ‘15 from SSDP Ireland
• Be Interactive
• SSDP at the Vilnius E-Network Summit: What you need to know about SSDP in the international youth advocacy scene in 2019

In the news

• How Students are Using Harm Reduction to Fight the Drug War – MTV News
• Coalition Opposes S.1622 Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues Act (SOFA) – Human Rights Watch
• Marijuana Justice Coalition Asserts Statement of Principles on Federal Marijuana Reform – Human Rights Watch
• Congress To Hear Testimony Tomorrow Challenging Marijuana Criminalization – NORML Blog
• ACLU And Other Groups Form Coalition To Push Justice-Focused Marijuana Legalization Model – Marijuana Moment
• As Congress Hears Cannabis Testimony, Advocates Form Powerful Coalition For Racial Justice – Forbes
• Congressional Marijuana Hearing Highlights Fault Line In Legalization Debate – Forbes

Recommended reading

• Stacia Cosner ‘05:  An inside look at SSDP’s strategy and goals
• Róisín Downes ‘15: World Drug Report 2019 Executive Summary: Conclusions and Policy Implications
• James Gould ‘15: Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 
• Rob Hofmann ‘16:  Nutrition is an Overlooked Aspect of Harm Reduction
• Luis Montoya ‘16: Fundraising: It’s not a dirty word
• Vilmarie Narloch ‘09: Inside Switzerland’s radical drug policy innovation
• Lauren Padgett ‘13: ‘Decolonizing Wealth’ Addresses Philanthropy’s White Supremacy Problem, Offers Solutions
• Hannah Procell ‘15:  Beyond One-Liners: A Guide to the Democratic Debate on Criminal Justice

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