Note from the team

This month, we had expected to be sharing exciting developments about our upcoming conference, #Sensible2020. We’re still working hard to make sure we’re providing our dedicated members with a platform for sharing, learning, and networking, even though we won’t be able to gather in-person. Soon, we’ll be posting information about #Sensible2020: the Virtual SSDP Conference & Lobby Day and hope that even more of you can join us for that event. 

As we make these considerations, we also must remember that the very people we’re fighting alongside are in many cases the most vulnerable to COVID-19. People who use drugs, and especially people who are unstably housed, may be most likely to be exposed to the virus, living with underlying health conditions,  and least likely to have access to viable medical care. The burdens placed on our health care systems will disrupt harm reduction supply delivery and may strain health care providers’ ability to respond to overdose. So we must keep fighting bad policy in the halls of power and educating our communities about the harm reduction tactics those policies necessitate. Thanks to our friends in the global community of people who use drugs and input from SSDP members, we’ve published a COVID-19 Global Harm Reduction Alert and hope you will share it widely. 

Now as much as ever, we must not lose sight of the critical and life-saving work, so we invite you to click through, read about our members’ work in the February report card, and perhaps get inspired about how you can be advocating for sensible policies to support people who use drugs in your community. Thank you for your commitment to our shared vision to end the War on Drugs and start making sense.

Wash your hands, stop touching your face, and stay sensible,

Your SSDP International Team

Action Alerts 

• Demand MORE and support U.S. federal legislation legalizing marijuana with reparative justice.
• Call on U.S. Congress to treat the overdose crisis as a public health emergency and move the Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency Act of 2019.
• Support higher education opportunities for all U.S. students through comprehensive reform of the Higher Education Act with the repeal of the Aid Elimination Penalty and access to Pell Grants for incarcerated students.

New Activists and Chapters

• Ball State University (United States)
• Broward College (United States)
• Elgin Community College (United States)
• School Without Walls (United States)
• Hunter College (United States)
• Montana State University (United States)
• University College London (United Kingdom)

CAT Leaderboard

Click here to view the Chapter Activity Tracker 

• University of California Santa Cruz
• University of Pittsburgh
• Ferris State University
• DePaul University
• Ohio State University
• Michigan State University
• Oakland Community College
• University of Texas at Austin
• George Washington University
• College of Charleston

Stats

• 73 active policy change campaigns throughout the network
• 15 interactions between our members and drug policy decision makers

Network highlights

• Willamette University College of Law SSDP’s social equity bill was introduced in the Oregon State House.
• Members of Oakland Community College SSDP and Wayne State University SSDP organized a Sensible Drug Policy panel at a Michigan state-wide student conference.
• SSDP Manchester received £500 in funding to introduce reagent drug checking on campus.
• Sarah Noon ‘19 from Oakland Community College SSDP met with Michigan’s Secretary of State regarding automatic expungement of cannabis records.
• University of North Texas SSDP got their Graduate Student Council to pass a resolution equalizing the punitive responses for people caught with any illicit substance on campus.
• Wake Forest University SSDP saw forty attendees at their half-day symposium titled “From Bench to Bar: Scientific and Legal Perspectives on Drug Policy.”
• David Ansah and Makafui Seshie from SSDP Ghana were appointed to committees established during the Drug Policy Reform Civil Society Organisations strategic meeting. 

Just Say Know Drug Education Roundup

In the February edition of the roundup, our Director of Drug Education shares some of the latest in cannabis and psychedelics research, highlights some efforts in overdose prevention in the U.S., shares a bit about what is going on globally in prevention and policy advocacy, and more!

SSDP in the news

• Activists launch new effort to kick facial recognition out of schools – The Daily Dot
• OPINION: The welcome growing acceptance of drug treatment – Red and Black
• Privacy rights groups call for ‘day of action’ to ban facial recognition at all schools – Biometric Update
• This College Banned Students From Even Discussing Facial Recognition – VICE
• UNT ROSE presents community-based alternatives to calling the police – North Texas Daily
• UCLA drops plan to use facial recognition security surveillance, but other colleges may be using technology – Inside Higher Ed
• Student group presents on safe drug use practices – The Brown Daily Herald
• Cannabis Professionals Search For Community Opinions on Possible Isla Vista Dispensary – Daily Nexus
• OCC reverses decision to block student-led forum on facial recognition software concerns – WXYZ
• Cannabis And Social Equity: Challenges And Opportunities – Benzinga
• Faculty members sign on to pledge against facial recognition at colleges | TheHill – The Hill
• Connecticut Clergy Push Pot Legalization at State Capitol – Cannabis Now

From the blog

• Michigan SSDP Chapters Prepare Their Expungement Push at Civic Engagement Conference 
• Ban Facial Recognition on Campus Day of Action
• Conference Sessions Announced + Registration Deadline This Week
• The First Six Months of Starting a Chapter at Trinity College Dublin
• Leeds University Union Mandated to Supply Reagent Kits to the Student Body

Recommended reading and resources

• Betty Aldworth: Generosity and Impact Aren’t Enough. Let’s Judge Philanthropy on How Well it Shifts Power
• Róisín Downes ‘15: Women Coca and Poppy Growers Mobilizing for Social Change 
• Orsi Feher ‘16: Drug Policy Reform at the United Nations: A Youth Advocacy Handbook
• James Gould ‘15: Beshear Launches Felony Voting Rights Restoration Website
• Rob Hofmann ‘16: Safehouse Won a Great Victory for Harm Reduction, NIMBYism Blocks It For Now
• Luis Montoya ‘16: Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals
• Kat Murti ‘09:  To Reduce Vaping Illness, Legalize Marijuana
• Vilmarie Narloch ‘09: Psychedelic therapy is on the cusp of legalization – and plagued with sexual abuse allegations
• Eric Sterling ‘98: Confronting the Challenge of Drugs

Member discounts & givebacks

• Dip Devices’ Dipper – Get 15% off and give 15% to us with code “SSDP”
• Dip Devices’ EVRI – 1% of all sales go to SSDP & MPP 
• Gift your credit card rewards to SSDP with Charity Charge 
• Find your next employee with H2 Talent or THC Staffing & a portion of your fees will be donated
• Shop to give back with iGive, Giving Assistant, and Amazon Smile
• Members in good standing of the SSDP Alumni Association are eligible for a $50 discount on #Sensible2020 conference registration
• PABJ Presents: The Cannatlantic Conference – Get 50% off registration with discount code “SSDP”