Tag: marijuana
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Action Alert: Support marijuana justice in 3 minutes
Tomorrow will be a historic day on Capitol Hill: for the very first time, a Congressional committee will consider a bill that ends marijuana prohibition. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019 (MORE Act) will be marked up in the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow, the critical first step toward consideration by the full House of Representatives and replacing
We won, but we’re not done!
Our voices have been heard, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the first stand-alone marijuana reform legislation! H.R. 1595, the SAFE Banking Act of 2019, protects cannabis consumers, employees, and small businesses by allowing access to banking for state-legal entities. We’re celebrating, and we’re gearing up for tomorrow when we’ll keep pushing onward toward full federal legalization of cannabis
The Awful Legacy of the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act- and how you can help end it
Eighty-two years ago today, the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act effectively banned the sale and use of cannabis in the United States. The support garnered to pass this act was propelled by racist fearmongering. While the Marihuana Tax Act was overturned in 1969 through a ruling in the Supreme Court case Leary v. United States, marijuana prohibition was rolled up into
We deserve MORE!
Historic legislation centers justice in cannabis reformToday, Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) introduced groundbreaking companion legislation in the United States House of Representatives and Senate to address the state-federal conflict in marijuana laws by removing marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act and establishing cannabis as a legal product which may be regulated by the states.
Demanding Marijuana Justice on the Federal Level
Our federal leaders are getting closer than ever to ending marijuana prohibition. In every legislative session, the status quo shifts, and more legislators are realizing that to be on the right side of history- and to keep their jobs- they must support marijuana policy reform. We made another step forward this week as our House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism
Today is the deadline to double your support for SSDP
2019 is nearly here, and there’s still time to make a gift to Students for Sensible Drug Policy before our match deadline tonight. We know you’re receiving lots of messages from deserving non-profits right now, but I’d like to take a moment to tell you why SSDP is uniquely important and share some of our plans for the new year.
Cannabis Sativa Economics and Sustainability
The following remarks were given by Elena Yaneva of SSDP Osterreich during the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) civil society hearing on “the use of cannabis for medical and non-medical purposes”. The hearing took place on May 7th, 2018 in Vienna, Austria. I can’t hide the excitement triggered by the opportunity to discuss one of the topics I am most
Marijuana’s Path to Legality in Mexico
Written by Arturo Lua Castillo, SSDP’s Latin America Policy Intern. Although marijuana legalization in Mexico lacks appeal amongst much of the public and is still a subject of stigma and misinformation, the country has recently taken crucial steps towards legalization. A Different Process In the United States, marijuana policy reform has primarily taken shape through state-wide ballot initiatives which have resulted
Pass the Mic
Written by Illinois State Policy Intern Amy Hildebrand I’ll start with two facts of cannabis legalization that should, by now, be well known, but nonetheless are important in anchoring the discussion. The war on drugs as a whole and cannabis policing specifically have disproportionately impacted communities of color. (See: Race and the Drug War) The contemporary legal cannabis market is
We can stop Sessions
Earlier today, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the set of memos that cannabis reformers have counted on to protect the will of the voters in 29 states where cannabis has been legalized for medical or adult use. Sessions has spent his career demonizing marijuana and the people who use it. Now he wields the power of the Department of
Cannabis prohibition is 80 today
It’s time to retire. One day before the 80th anniversary of federal cannabis prohibition, Senator Corey Booker introduced groundbreaking legislation to remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act. This bill is not the first to propose doing so — but it is the first to do so with the explicit intent of targeting the racist origins and continued racist
Marijuana Use Is An Asian American Issue Too
On November 8th of 2016, California made history by passing Proposition 64, also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act. As an Asian American woman who has fought for drug policy reform over the past five years, I am optimistic that this will have a positive impact on our community. However, as the daughter of Chinese immigrant parents, I
Why Asian Americans Should Fight To End the Drug War
From Hyphen Magazine: When I was 17, I told my mom that I had tried cannabis. Cannabis was a completely foreign substance to my parents. In common use of the Chinese language, using cannabis and other drugs is known — in precise translation — as “inhaling poison.” The idea that their daughter would be “inhaling poison” was so unfathomable that
Most Laws Barring People With Felonies From the Marijuana Business Are Pure Hypocrisy
Written by SSDP Trustee Shaleen Title ’02 and originally published on TheInfluence.org. People often speak of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that come with building a new, legal marijuana industry from scratch. The opportunities are real, but the premise forgets something: This industry isn’t being created from scratch. Instead, it’s replacing two things that already existed: an illicit market from which many marginalized
Should You Support California’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act?
Written by Leland Radovanovic, chapter leader of CUNY Baruch College SSDP. This post originally appeared on The Odyssey Online. The tide is coming in on cannabis legalization. Public consensus has never been higher. It’s time to legalize. One of the most important states may be next. California. They’ve had, for several decades now, a medical cannabis program. For better or
Virginia SSDP Chapters Launch "ReVAMP" Campaign
Written by Joe Melton, Vice President of Virginia Tech SSDP On April 20th, a couple months of planning came to fruition for SSDP chapters across Virginia as the ReVAMP campaign was finally kicked into gear. ReVAMP stands for Repealing Virginia Marijuana Prohibition and is primarily an effort to make the voices of Virginian youth heard on the issue of cannabis prohibition.
Oh, Ohio
Following an intense and deeply thoughtful debate this summer, Students for Sensible Drug Policy opted to remain neutral on Ohio’s Issue 3, the wildly controversial ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adult and medical use in Ohio in 2015. The cannabis community at large is torn on the issue; the SSDP Board of Directors (largely students elected by their peers), Trustees,
SSDP Chapter Leader Studies Drug War in South America
As any SSPDer will know, there are many reasons for college students to become actively involved in ending the international failure that is the “war on drugs,” despite how overwhelming of a project it can appear to be at times. But it is much rarer for colleges to actively engage with students who have dedicated their academic career and future plans
