Written by Jarell Corley ‘22, Hyde Park, Illinois SSDP Ambassador As a former medical marijuana activist and current electoral reform advocate, I am passionate about serious efforts to reform outdated policies influencing many aspects of our society; one in particular is drug policy. This article is in response to President Biden’s executive order pardoning all federal offenses of simple marijuana
With 2022 drawing to a close, Students for Sensible Drug Policy is reflecting on the drug policy victories we have been able to accomplish over the past twelve months. With campuses and community centers opening back up, keeping the potential risks of COVID in mind,, our students and youth leaders were busy leading efforts to advance sensible policies on their
The Offices of Senator Schumer, Booker, and Wyden are accepting comments on specific parts of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), the Senate cannabis legalization bill released in July. The U.S Policy Council is collecting comments to submit on behalf of SSDP. Much like the MORE Act in the House, the CAOA would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled
In spite of the many challenges of 2020, Students for Sensible Drug Policy made some incredible accomplishments this year. Through the challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic, upending of campus life, and rapid shifts in change-making strategies, we’ve seen our network members step up and reinvent the ways we organize. SSDP’s vision of a post-prohibition future where safety, justice, and
Written by Trey Brasher ’19 and Elijah Zorro Ullman ‘15, SSDP Scientific Policy Council members (Written to publish on October 27th, 2020 for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) 50 years ago today, on Oct 27th, 1970, the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) was signed into law. Solidifying treatment of drugs as a criminal issue rather than a medical or societal one, the
What a year it has been for cannabis policy reform! Between the seven winning U.S. state ballot initiatives for adult use and medical cannabis legalization, the United Nations vote to remove cannabis from Schedule IV- recognizing its medicinal benefits, and the passage of the MORE Act in the United States House of Representatives, we have seen a historic blow to
In a historic victory for drug policy reform and a historic blow to marijuana prohibition in the United States, the MORE Act has passed in the House of Representatives. From the passing of the Controlled Substances Act and its implementation in 1971 to now, hundreds of thousands of people have been arrested for marijuana possession. It’s truly hard to overstate the
Written by Abhi Dewan ‘19, U.S. Federal Policy Liaison November 3rd, 2020 was a date many of us were anxiously awaiting. Though it wasn’t until November 7th that we got the complete picture, on the 3rd we knew we’d won. Drug policy reform ballots across the nation toppled the old dogmas surrounding drug use. Oregon became the inaugural state to
Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s October Report Card is out! The United States 2020 election has now largely concluded. Although it took a few days to tally the final votes before a Presidential winner emerged, there was one clear winner right from election night: drug policy reform. Ballot measures for medical and adult-use cannabis legalization passed in blue, red, and
Written by Abhi Dewan ‘18, U.S. Federal Policy Liaison 50 years ago today, the House of Representatives voted to list marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance, escalating the war on marijuana. Last week, the House was poised to remedy injustice for those impacted, but instead chose to postpone their scheduled vote on the MORE Act. Though the bill was