Note from the team

It’s hard to believe that #Sensible2020 + Lobby Day, our international conference, will kick off in seven weeks and four days! And eight weeks from today, we’ll be following up from dozens of meetings on Capitol Hill after our Lobby Day, when 100 or more chapter and alumni members, alongside allies, will have carried our message of reform directly to the halls of power. Conference sessions, our annual Congress and board elections, a private dinner and healing experience for people of color, and of course that legendary dance party are all taking shape. 

Perhaps our favorite part of the conference and lobby day, though, aren’t the things themselves. It’s that every piece engages members in the development, planning, delivery, and experience of the conference. Staff guides the deadlines and logistics, but members define the work in a three-day, perfectly tangible representation of what makes SSDP so special. After participating in conference and lobby day planning, members will have insights into how to replicate the experiences on their campuses and communities alongside new organizing, speaking, and lobbying skills that build our movement and bring more justice to our global community.

If you haven’t already, it’s time right now to start making plans! Register for the conference. Consider a sponsorship for your company. Fund a scholarship for one of the hundreds of students who are dedicating their time to our shared values. But whatever you do: don’t miss your chance to be a part of this incredible event! 

See you there, 

Your SSDP Global 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

• Metropolitan State University (United States)
• SSDP Manchester (United Kingdom)
• SSDP Tel Hai (Israel)

CAT Leaderboard

Click here to view the Chapter Activity Tracker 

1. University of California Santa Cruz
2. University of Pittsburgh
3. DePaul University
4. Ferris State University
5. Michigan State University
6. Oakland Community College
7. University of Texas Austin
8. University of North Georgia Oconee
9. College of Charleston
10. George Washington University

Stats 

• 105 one-on-one coaching calls
• 34 care packages and store orders sent
• 104 people currently engaging in Just Say Know training
• 28 youth-led sessions, 2 youth-led plenaries, and the annual Congress in development for #Sensible2020 
• 156 people donated to our December Cannabis Challenge

Network Highlights

• SSDP Leeds worked with their Student Union to rewrite their drug policy from a zero tolerance approach to a harm reduction based policy.
• Georgia State University SSDP’s Haley Dourron ’18 had her poster, addressing the hypothesis that psychedelic use may cause psychosis by comparing the psychedelic state and schizophrenia and other psychotic states  accepted to the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research. 
• Brett Phelps ’04, an alumnus of University of New Mexico School of Law SSDP, is running for District Attorney in New Mexico.
• Janos Marton ’00, an alumnus of Dartmouth College SSDP, civil rights lawyer, and decarceration activist — is running for District Attorney in Manhattan.
• Spalding University SSDP has created a coalition with Kentuckians for Medical Marijuana  to organize lobby days for medical marijuana and marijuana decriminalization.
• Middlebury College SSDP president Maria Bobbitt-Chertock ‘19 was elected to the Student Government Association as Director of Health & Wellness.
• University of California Santa Cruz SSDP spearheaded the campaign to pass a resolution through the Santa Cruz City Council making various psychoactive plants lowest level priority for law enforcement, receiving endorsement of the Student Union Assembly along the way.
• Trinity College Dublin SSDP obtained permission from the school administration to have drug information and water tables at all student life events.
• SSDP global and our Just Say Know drug education program were mentioned as contributing to achieving Sustainable Development Goals  in the UNODC Official Publication on UNGASS & Civil Society.

SSDP in the News

• Groups Urge NY Lawmakers to Stand Firm on Bail Reform – Human Rights Watch
• Digital rights group, students team up against facial recognition tech on college campuses — The Hill
• Activists Across Social Justice Movements Fight Voter Suppression in Georgia – Filter
• DA Candidate Plans to Abolish NYC’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor – Filter
• Ban Facial Recognition on College Campuses, Activists Say – Reason
• Santa Cruz City Council Approves Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure – Marijuana Moment
• More than 40 colleges say they won’t use facial recognition on campus – The Daily Dot
• Top 10 Most Influential Communication Professionals To Watch In Cannabis 2020 – Green Market Report
• The New Federal Minimum Vaping Age Won’t Protect Young People – Filter

From the blog

• Setting the Record Straight: Response to CSOS calling for criminalization of drug use in Ghana
• Updates from the 62nd Reconvened Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and How You Can Get Involved
• Illinois SSDP Mini-Conference 
• SSDP at the United Nations: High-level policy advocacy webinar
• Introducing the Wake Forest University School of Medicine SSDP Chapter
• Take Action to Ban Facial Recognition on Campus
• Introducing the SSDP Africa Committee – Part One
• Introducing the SSDP Africa Committee – Part Two

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. 

• March 2-6 | Vienna, Austria |  63rd Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs
• March 13-22 | Austin, TX, USA | South by Southwest with Alex Kreit ‘98, Dan Goldman ‘99, Kris Krane ‘98, Troy Dayton ‘98, and Betty Aldworth
• March 26 | Everywhere | Fantastic Fungi Day: attend or host a screening near you
• March 27-30 | Baltimore, MD, USA | #Sensible2020: The Young People’s Drug Policy Conference + Lobby Day
• April 3-4 | Chicago, IL, USA | Illinois Cannabis Convention
• October 15-20 | San Juan, PR, USA | 13th National Harm Reduction Conference

Recommended reading and resources 

• Betty Aldworth: Towards an Ethos of Equity and Inclusion in the Psychedelic Movement
• Róisín Downes ‘15: Drug Decriminalisation Across the World: Interactive Map
• James Gould ‘15: The case for capping all prison sentences at 20 years
• Rob Hofmann ‘16: Rethinking the ‘Drug Dealer’
• Vilmarie Narloch ‘09: The New Federal Minimum Vaping Age Won’t Protect Young People
• Eric Sterling ‘98: The Wrong Way to Fight the Opioid Crisis

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