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
Author: Iulia Vatau ‘20, Chapter Leader Tell me a bit about yourself: what do you study, what are your interests and why have you decided to start a chapter? My name’s Iulia and I am a second-year student at University College London, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in History and Politics of the Americas. My courses introduced me and gradually sparked
Author: Jacob Chagnon ’17 One of the most valuable aspects of attending the annual Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the opportunity to collaborate with other civil-society groups. This work extends beyond attending the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)-sponsored programming–the plenary, the side events–and beyond our network of youth-focused civil society, Paradigma. While many Non Governmental Organisations
Lastly, we’ve compiled a list of SSDP-related activities you can complete if you are self-isolating during COVID-19. Interested in learning more about how SSDP approaches drug education? Check out our Just Say Know Peer Education program, and contact vilmarie@ssdp.org with questions.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy did some amazing things in 2018. Our thoughtful, bright, and impressive young activists made huge strides towards SSDP’s vision of a post-prohibition future where safety, justice, and education are prioritized in drug policy. There’s no better time than right now to help us celebrate 20 years and the start of 2019 by making a year-end
Written by Orsi Fehér of SSDP Österreich(Austria). Drugreporter, of the Rights Reporter Foundation, recently surveyed young people in Hungary to find out how they feel about the quasi-mandatory “Drug Prevention” programmes in Hungarian schools. The results are sobering, yet not surprising. Hungary has had an interesting relationship to the War on Drugs. Before the end of the Soviet regime, drug
Several months ago, we announced that we hired James Gould ’15 and Sarah Diem ’15 as Interns under the SSDP Just Say Know Peer Education program. James and Sarah are tailoring our Just Say Know resources, which are targeted toward college-age students, for a younger demographic and presenting it to 8th and 11th grade students at a Denver public school.
Written by Sarah Diem ‘15 and James Gould ‘15, SSDP Just Say Know interns. Since cannabis legalization in Colorado, different entities have developed educational programs targeted at different groups. One such program is the Good To Know program, developed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which is targeted to adults 21 and over and seeks to educate
Several months ago, we announced that we hired James Gould ’15 and Sarah Diem ’15 as Interns under the SSDP Just Say Know Peer Education program. James and Sarah are tailoring our Just Say Know resources, which are targeted toward college-age students, for a younger demographic and presenting it to 8th and 11th grade students at a Denver public school.
At #SSDP2016, we launched the first edition of our Just Say Know Peer Education training curriculum. Since then, we’ve had over 80 students engage in the curriculum, providing much needed feedback, time, support, and help in the development of our 2nd Edition. Thanks to the time and efforts of many, especially our SSDP certified Peer Educators
As SSDPers embark on their mission as Peer Educators, studying previous drug education practices can benefit the success of this unprecedented program. Since its fruition during the Temperance movement, drug education has been driven by political and moral agendas. Drug use was taught to be morally wrong, irreversibly harmful, and an indication of personal weakness. The goal of every program
Written by Hayley Moran, University of Tennessee SSDP When I was in fifth grade, I won the D.A.R.E. essay contest and read my essay in front of the entire school. Now, I don’t actually have a copy of this essay (which I’m actually quite thankful for) but I can imagine that 5th grade me said something along the lines of,
When Doug and Catherine Snodgrass shared the story of their autistic son’s arrest for drug sale charges this past February, they put a face to the very real problems perpetuated by zero tolerance policies in schools. On September 12th, the parents joined four experts in a teleconference on improving drug education hosted by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) to once
This blog was written by Garrett Llopiz, the Founder & President of the University of North Florida SSDP chapter, and also one of the Florida Regional Organizers for the AMPLIFY Project. “It’s not a war on drugs; it’s a war on personal freedom. Keep that in mind at all times.” Bill Hicks said it the best, and this war on personal
I recently read several reports that the D.A.R.E. program would be “dropping marijuana” from their curriculum. These started to surface on election day last week, and with the passage of Amendment 64 and I-502 the rumors continued to spread. At first, after hearing this, I was somewhat excited, but then I stopped to think about it for a second. Why
Mexico City, Mexico — On the eve of SSDP’s annual training conference in Washington, DC, students at Mexico City’s National School of Anthropology (ENAH) are preparing to hold their first national congress, from 11 – 14 April. Called “The History and Practice of Drugs: An Anthropological Vision,” the students at the ENAH hope to dispel myths and inform various university