October Newsletter 2021

Note from the team 

As we enter the fall season, Students for Sensible Drug Policy has seen the return to campus for many of our chapters for the first time in well over a year. As everyone re-adjusts to a world that is not quite post-COVID but growing nearer, young leaders around the world are eager to re-engage with their communities and continue the work of ending the War on Drugs in their local communities. 

To assist in that effort, SSDP Policy and Advocacy Director, Robert Hofmann ‘16, unveiled SSDP’s model municipal Resolution to Advance Sensible Drug Policy, which you can find here. Check out the replay of our webinar from last Thursday, October 7th, to hear directly from Rob, our student leaders, and our partners at the Parabola Center when they unveiled our policy, the folks who will be running with it, and our allies who will begin the process of creating a series of ordinances while we train our youth leaders on municipal law and policy!

Action Alerts 

United States Federal:

• The MORE Act just passed in the House Judiciary Committee! We need you to tell your House Representative to vote YES on MORE!
• EQUAL Act – Urge your Senator to eliminate the racist sentencing disparity between powdered and crack cocaine!

Local: 

• Pass our Resolution to Advance Sensible Drug Policy in your community to shift from punitive drug policies to a public health focused approach.

New Activists and Chapters

• California State University Long Beach
• SSDP Serbia
• Case Western Reserve University
• University of San Diego
• SSDP New Delhi
• SSDP Wales
• San Diego City College
• Collingswood High School
• University of Detroit Mercy
• Sonoma State University 
• Nova Southeastern University Tampa Bay
• SSDP Limerick

CAT leaderboard

1. Rochester SSDP
2. Michigan State University 
3. University of California Berkeley 
4. University of New Haven 
5. DePaul University 
6. San Diego City College 
7. Point Park University 
8. Santa Clara University School of Law 
9. Willamette University College of Law 
10. SSDP New Zealand

Stats

• Thirty-four new care packages put together to distribute to U.S. chapters
• Three new staff members hired
• Six ongoing campaigns to pass our Resolution to Advance Sensible Drug Policy
• International Overdose Awareness Day Events held in over five countries across two continents
• 54,708 Facebook followers
• 6163 Instagram followers
• 1336 Twitter followers

Network highlights

• Michigan State University SSDP met with 3 state representatives and 1 local representative regarding drug decriminalization bills at the state and local level
• Adler University SSDP trained more than 50 students on how to use naloxone during an on-campus event
• Missoula SSDP distributed over 200 boxes (400 individual doses) of Narcan at Welcome Feast

From the blog

• Public Announcement of the Resolution to Advance Sensible Drug Policy
• SDP International Opens Registration for the Annual UN Training Webinar Series
• Here’s to 23 years of Students for Sensible Drug Policy
• We’re Hiring Two U.S. Advocacy Interns
• SSDP International Launches the Second Edition of Drug Policy Reform at the United Nations: A Youth Advocacy Handbook
• SSDP Welcomes Rory O’Brien, Jacob Plowden, and Jeremy Sharp to the team
• The European Drug Policy Working Group Is Recruiting New Members
• SSDP Submits Comments On Cannabis Administration And Opportunity Act
• Introducing Collingswood High School
• International Overdose Awareness Day 2021
• Announcing New SSDP Promotions!
• Get Your New Care Package for the New School Year!
• Interview with Annajane Yolken
• Announcing SSDP International’s Extraordinary Board Elections and General Assembly
• SSDP’s European Committee is recruiting new members for its harm reduction working group
• Action: U.S. Policy Council collecting comments for senate cannabis legalization bill
• Event: It’s Time to Defund the Eradication of Psychoactive Plans in Colombia
• July 2021 – U.S. Policy Council Monthly Round-up

Upcoming events and days of action

These events include those which are hosted by SSDP global, or by SSDP chapters, or in which we are partners or co-hosts, or feature an SSDP member as a speaker. If your chapter is hosting an event that you’d like listed, please let your SSDP staff member know. Check the “Member Benefits” section for event discount codes!

• October 19-22nd | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA| MJBizCon 
• December 2-3rd | New York, New York, USA | Horizons NYC
• October 15th | Worldwide | International Day of Rural Women 
• October 17th | Worldwide | International for the Eradication of Poverty
• November 2nd | Worldwide | International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists 
• November 10th | Worldwide | World Science Day for Peace & Development 

Recommended reading and resources

• Iulia Vatau ‘20: Turning the Tide: Growth, visibility and impact of the civil society drug policy reform movement at the UN
• Rob Hofmann ‘16: How to decriminalize drugs: the design features of a non-criminal response to the personal possession of drugs
• Luis Montoya ‘16: SSDP Chapter Organizing Manual
• Carmen Winter ‘19: Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need
• Jeremy Sharp ‘12: Zulus Defeated the British with Psychedelic Mushroom
• Rory O’Brien  ‘19: “Social Workers Belong in Police Departments” Is an Offensive Statement
• Róisín Downes ‘15: Beyond drugs and drug policy: Towards transformative Indigenous liberation
• Evan Nison ‘09: NisonCo’s Re-entry hiring program in partnership with the Last Prisoner Project

Member Benefits

• Dip Devices’ Dipper – Get 15% off and give 15% to us with code “SSDP15”
• Dip Devices’ EVRI – 1% of all sales go to SSDP & MPP 
• Gift your credit card rewards to SSDP with Charity Charge 
• Work with NisonCo to propel your organization through public relations in the recreational cannabis, medical marijuana, and hemp industries.
• Get books from our Recommended Reading list and give back at the same time
• Shop to give back with iGive, Giving Assistant, and Amazon Smile
• Eco-Ag U Online from Acres U.S.A. – Get 15% off of any course or rewatch with discount code “SSDP15”

Jobs and opportunities

• Drug Free Schools and Communities Act Intern – SSDP
• Resolution to Advance Sensible Drug Policy Intern – SSDP
• Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research – CIIS
• Harm Reduction Associate – National Harm Reduction Coalition
• 4 positions open  – NisonCo
• 17 positions open – Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps
• Clinical Director – Sage Institute – Oakland, California, USA 
• Training Program Coordinator – Sage Institute – Oakland, California, USA