SSDP Bicoastal Blitz Part 2
Happy Thursday! Wherever you are in the world, we hope that your week is off to a productive start so far.As many readers may already be well-aware, the entire SSDP team has been incredibly busy so far this year with back-to-back multi-conference weekends to end the month of March, along with a lengthy list of SSDP chapter gatherings, community events, lobbying days and more throughout the first quarter of the year.
Tales from the Chacruna Institute’s PCU and The PACC in Pittsburgh
Over the course of March’s final weekend, a multitude of SSDP staffers, board members, and volunteers alike took both the Bay Area and the East Coast SSDP stronghold city of Pittsburgh by storm for two cornerstone stops on SSDP’s 2025 Conference Circuit Tour.
Out in California, SSDP’s Kat Murti and Gina Giorgio took the stage for the Chacruna Institute’s Psychedelic Culture Conference, where Director of Strategy and Development Gina Giorgio led the way on Saturday, March 29th, headlining a packed-house “Track 3” workshop focused on “Psychedelic Education for Parents and Teens” alongside legendary harm reduction and drug education pioneer Marsha Rosenbaum.
Executive Director Murti closed out the PCU’s “Track Two” lineup on Sunday, March 30th as part of a truly prime-time lineup for Paradoxes & Prospects of Psychedelics Under The Current Administration In The USA. Moderated by Psychedelics Today co-founder and CEO Joe Moore in front of a packed house on Sunday afternoon, Murti was joined by current MAPS Co-Interim Director Ismail Ali JD, Delphi CEO Lia Mix, and Dr.Lynnette Averill.
The discussion itself certainly didn’t disappoint – with lively exchanges abound between panelists about perceived differences in rhetoric and reality surrounding psychedelic policy reform at the federal level under the current administration. Notably, Murti provided some insights into the DEA’s potential role under the Trump administration based on her first-hand experiences leading SSDP’s fight against the DEA last November to protect and preserve access to DOI and DOC for crucial scientific research purposes.
Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, the SSDP team’s presence proved essential to this year’s Pennsylvania Cannabis Convention (PACC) as a source of harm reduction resources —so much so that SSDP PGH handed out their entire supply of free naloxone and fentanyl test strips within the first hour of the conference on Sunday!
While a Saturday evening pre-PACC party kicked the weekend off, which included a guest performance alongside the evening’s entertainment by PACC Keynote speaker Jim Belushi, SSDP representatives also gave a strong showing during the conference on Sunday, March 30th with SSDP Board Member and Director of Communications and Events gina vensel headlining a “Cannabis Activism with SSDP” discussion panel alongside Board Chair Karley Snyder, Board members Kennedy Landers and and SSDP Pittsburgh Community Chapter member Theresa Nightingale.
The panel discussed how to become a drug policy advocate and ambassador with SSDP, info on becoming involved in local, state, and national cannabis activism, and details on upcoming PA cannabis legalization bills. The potential of a state store model—an unfavorable path towards adult use—was also discussed. (According to a recent article from MJBizDaily, a recent analysis commissioned by the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition (PCC) shows that state-run marijuana sales would violate federal law.)
Highlighting Psychedelic Comedy, “The Harvard Way”
More recently, SSDP teamed up with our good friends over at Psychedelics Today, Psychedelic State(s) of America, and the Harvard Undergraduate Psychedelics Club as part of the HPC’s annual Psychedelic Week festivities to simulcast “(L)et’s (S)it (D)own: A Comedic Psychedelics Panel” featuring a side-splitting lineup of comedic talent including renowned psychedelic stand-up comic Shane Mauss.
Couldn’t tune in live last Friday night? No worries! You can watch the full panel recording here!
That’s all for now but tuned for another blog post on Friday that is sure to be chock-full of exciting updates, event announcements, and a preview of SSDP’s quarterly review highlights.
