Tag: cannabis

13
Jan

Student Post – President Biden: Is the Future of Sensible Drug Policy a Pipe Dream?

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medical marijuana activist and current electoral reform advocate, I am passionate about serious efforts to reform outdated policies influencing many aspects of our society; one in particular is drug policy.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

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22
Nov

The Case for Descheduling Drugs: From Cannabis to Heroin

Recently, President Biden asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services to “initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.” The announcement was a welcomed change by many federal cannabis activists, who are calling for the descheduling of cannabis through this review. In order to truly understand why we must deschedule marijuana, it’s important

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30
Nov

Carmen’s SSDP Origin Story

Today is Giving Tuesday and it’s my one-year anniversary of working at Students for Sensible Drug Policy, so I am sharing my SSDP origin story with you.  In 2012, shortly after my college graduation, I was arrested for cannabis possession. I was both ashamed of my arrest and fearful that I had jeopardized my future. After my experience with the

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9
Aug

Action: U.S Policy Council Collecting Comments for Senate Cannabis Legalization Bill

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

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9
Jun

78 Students for Sensible Drug Policy Chapters Call On Congress To End Federal Marijuana Prohibition

For Immediate Release Primary contact: Rob Hofmann, United States Outreach and Policy Coordinator, Students for Sensible Drug Policy(607) 316-0227, robert@ssdp.org Secondary Contact: Jason Ortiz, Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy(860) 639-8101, jason@ssdp.org Today, 78 Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) chapters sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi, House Majority Leader Hoyer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urging

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28
May

SSDP Press Release: Congress is Back for MORE to End Federal Marijuana Prohibition

The reintroduction of the MORE Act would remove federal penalties for marijuana and seek to repair the harms caused by decades of racially biased policing. Today, leaders in the House of Representatives reintroduced a landmark bill to end federal marijuana prohibition and begin to repair the harms caused by decades of disproportionate arrests and prosecutions. The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and

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27
May

The MORE Act Returns to Congress Tomorrow. Act Now.

The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act is expected to be re-introduced in the House of Representatives tomorrow (May 28th).In 2020, the House made history by passing the MORE Act, which would end the criminalization of marijuana at the federal level and provide grants to communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs. With a split Senate and ever-increasing

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27
Apr

Introducing SSDP’s Dubuque Ambassador

Written by Evan Hudson ‘21, Dubuque, Iowa SSDP Ambassador How did you hear about SSDP? I’ve been aware of SSDP’s work since high school, but only recently looked into getting involved as an extension of my work in harm reduction.  Why did you want to get involved/what made you decide to start an SSDP Ambassadorship?  I was inspired to become

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16
Mar

One Connecticut Marijuana Legalization Bill Promises Important Student Protections

Written by Rob Hofmann ‘16 and Sarah Noon ‘18One of the understated impacts of the War on Drugs is the effect that criminalization of drugs has on young people. Young people (under 18 to 35), especially young people of color, make up a substantial amount of the arrests that occur throughout our half-century disastrous drug war. Because young people are

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17
Dec

Opinion Piece: After 50 Years of Failure, It’s Time to Rethink the Controlled Substances Act

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

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4
Dec

Another Historic Victory: The MORE Act Has Passed in the House of Representatives

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

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3
Dec

Historic Victory for Cannabis at the United Nations

Written by Orsi Fehér ’16 and Beatrix Vas ’19 Support our UN Advocacy work. Make a gift to SSDP’s International Activities Fund today. Drug policy history was made yesterday as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) removed cannabis from Schedule IV in the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 After two years of active procrastination, the CND finally made

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30
Nov

Action Alert: Congress To Vote On Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition This Week

Later this week, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, H.R. 3884. This will mark the first time that Congress vote on the legal status of marijuana since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act a half-century ago. If you’re reading this email, you have probably already taken action to get

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24
Sep

Today Marks the 50th Anniversary of the Controlled Substances Act

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

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17
Sep

SSDP Statement on MORE Act Vote Postponement

Delaying the MORE Act is Postponing Justice for those Harmed by Marijuana Prohibition Students for Sensible Drug Policy is disappointed in the announcement to postpone the U.S. House vote on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Opportunity (MORE) Act (HR 3884), which had been announced for a vote the week of September 21st. This news is particularly disappointing because next week

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18
Jun

‘Medicinal Cannabis ‘ll boost Nigeria’s economy’

Author: Saheed Ibrahim ’18, SSDP Nigeria This article was originally published by The Hope Newspaper, to read the original article click here. President of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), Nigeria chapter, Mr Olufemi Bashorun has advised state and federal governments to exploit the medicinal cannabis market to boost the nation’s crumbling economy. This call came on the heels of

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3
Jan

Setting the Records Straight: Response to CSOs Calling for Criminalization of Drug Use in Ghana

Students for Sensible Drug Policy joined with organisations from across Ghana and West Africa in response to a petition by 5 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) opposing the calls for decriminalisation of drug use and possession, particularly of cannabis. You can read more about the calls for decriminalisation in the region in the Model Drug Law for West Africa: A Tool

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