Tag: ssdp
Global Member Highlight: Arvy Kumar ’18
Written by Jacob Chagnon ’17 Jacob: For this week’s Member Highlight, we’re highlighting Aravind ‘Arvy’ Kumar ‘18, former chapter leader at NYU Abu Dhabi and contributing member to the International Organizing Committee. Arvy, my immediate successor at the NYU Abu Dhabi chapter and a dear friend, now lives and works full time in Abu Dhabi since his graduation. Given the
SSDP Country Highlight: Lebanon (Part 2)
This is the second part of our Global Country Highlight on Lebanon. If you have not seen the first part, please click here. Civil Society In my view, the NGOs working in Lebanon set a fantastic example for activists everywhere, covering key areas of policy change, network building, medical treatment, and harm reduction. Civil society’s interrelated web of activity demonstrates
Introducing Los Angeles Community College SSDP
Written by Lucca Pastore ‘20, Los Angeles Community College Chapter LeaderHow did you hear about SSDP?I heard about Students for Sensible Drug Policy through social media. Specifically Instagram, and even more specifically from an account called @25i_nbomeme. The admin of this account posts a lot of funny bilingual memes and also talks a lot about harm reduction on his page,
Introducing Two More Interns on the SSDP Global Team
At the start of the Fall semester, SSDP renewed our Policy Internship (now called “U.S. Federal Liaison”) and found our new Digital Communications Intern!Abhi Dewan ‘18 – United States Federal LiaisonAbhi is primarily responsible for assisting the development and implementation of SSDP’s United States federal legislative strategies and co-facilitating our United States Policy Council. Abhi is an advocate, a life-long
Fill Out Our SSDP Membership Survey
Authors: Mariah Gaither ’16, Rob Hofmann ’16, Luis Montoya ’16 As our organization continues to grow and operate through this incredibly turbulent year, we must make sure that our work is centering the desires and advocacy of our members. What would you like SSDP to do more of, or do a better job at? Is there something you want to
SSDP Country Highlight: Lebanon
Earlier this year, I was taken aback by civil society’s impressive commitment to drug policy reform and advocacy in Lebanon. As SSDP’s first Country Highlight, I’m excited to shine a spotlight on this beautiful and complicated country, to explore its drug laws, recent and important developments, and most importantly, share some of the fantastic work of civil society. In the
SSDP Statement on Breonna Taylor
Students for Sensible Drug Policy is enraged and disturbed over the decision made by the grand jury in the murder of Breonna Taylor to indict just one out of three officers involved with charges that were unrelated to her death. However, we are not surprised. The system that killed Breonna Taylor refuses to hold itself accountable time and time again.
SSDP Opens International Office
Students for Sensible Drug Policy has opened its International Office in Vienna, Austria. This historical move is an important step in the restructuring of SSDP’s Global Programs and will help SSDP’s operations become more reflective of the network’s global nature. Our new office is located at Impact Hub Vienna, an inspirational and diverse community of global changemakers. From there, Director
Introducing SSDP’s United States Policy Council
Written by Abhi Dewan ‘18 and Rob Hofmann ‘16 Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s success in changing drug policy relies on the tireless work of our grassroots network of youth advocates who are passionate about the change they want to see in their world. That change has taken place on the campus, local, state, regional, nationwide, and international levels, with
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
Global Member Highlight: Chiri Choukeir ’20
Welcoming two new interns to the SSDP Global team
Two weeks ago, we welcomed two new interns to support our team in the creation of our daughter office in Vienna. Beatrix Vas ‘19 – Global Development Intern Beatrix is primarily responsible for developing and implementing strategies to grow the capacity of the Global Program and assess new opportunities for growth & expansion. Beatrix holds a Master of Public Administration
We’re hiring a Digital Communications Intern!
Have you ever wanted to work for Students for Sensible Drug Policy? We’re hiring a Digital Communications intern! Working for SSDP is a great opportunity to serve our network of students and young people who are leading the charge to end the disastrous War on Drugs and heal the harms of drug prohibition. SSDP is overseen by our Board of
Farewell from Stacia
Today is my last day working for Students for Sensible Drug Policy after being hired right out of college 11 years ago. It’s hard for me to put into words how much this organization means to me, but I’m going to give it a shot. Even on the most difficult days (of which there were many), I still woke up
Introducing Northwestern SSDP
By Rosalind Wang ‘20 and Shareef Jabba ‘20, Northwestern SSDP Co-Chapter Leaders How did you hear about SSDP? Rosalind: I first heard about SSDP on MAPS’ website. It immediately drew my attention, and I was astonished when I found out Northwestern did not have a chapter. I believe organizations like SSDP would contribute a lot to my school. Shareef: I
Drug Policy and Digital Rights: June 30th and July 1st Calls for Action
By Erica Darragh ’14, SSDP Board Member and Sunrise Movement distributed organizer It is undeniable that we are living in a historic moment, comparable to the cultural awakening of the 1960s that fueled the Civil Rights, anti-war, and counterculture movements. The United States is being confronted with its racism during the most important election of our lifetimes, and ideas that
Our U.S. Campus Policy Gradebook has been updated!
Written by Rob Hofmann ‘16, U.S. Movement Building Fellow Our public-facing U.S. Campus Policy Gradebook document has been updated to include submissions through May 2020! As you may have noticed, we also changed the title of the document from the Campus Policy Gradebook to the U.S. Campus Policy Gradebook, since the positive and negative aspects highlighted in the Gradebook are
SSDP stands in solidarity with the youth-led climate movement for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day
Written by Erica Darragh ‘14, SSDP Board of Directors Chair and Sunrise Movement distributed organizer. 2020 is a turning point in US history, and not just because of the election or the pandemic. This year is the 50th anniversary of both Earth Day and the Controlled Substances Act, tandem moments in US political development that have now come full circle.
Michigan SSDP Chapters Prepare Their Expungement Push at Civic Engagement Conference
Written by: Sarah Noon ‘18, Oakland Community College SSDP President Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapters from Oakland Community College and Wayne State University organized and coordinated a breakout session on the topic of sensible drug policy at Michigan Democratic Institution for Civic Engagement’s 2020 Student Engagement Conference. Sarah Noon ‘18, president and founder of OCC SSDP, serves as the
Updates from the 62nd Reconvened Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and How You Can Get Involved!
Written by Orsi Fehér ’16, SSDP’s European Global Fellow SSDP’s delegation to the 62nd reconvened session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) featured Jessica Steinberg from Oxford University, Panagiotis Sevris from SSDP Vienna, and Orsi Fehér, SSDP’s Global Fellow. While the session itself mainly dealt with administration and budgetary discussion and, as such, didn’t contain as much excitement as
Julian Hodge ’17 and Sean Cutler ’19 – Our Experience with Leading Decriminalize Santa Cruz
Editor Note: University of California Santa Cruz SSDP plans to utilize the connections they fostered with politicians, advocates, and community members during the Decrim Santa Cruz campaign to ultimately push for the decriminalization of all drugs. To read more about SSDP’s stance on limited drug legalization, please read our policy position document. Written by Julian Hodge ‘17 and Sean Cutler
Introducing Middlebury College SSDP
Written by Maria Bobbit-Chertock, Middlebury College SSDP Chapter Leader How did you hear about SSDP? At the beginning of the semester, I spoke with my Sociology professor, Rebecca Tiger, about how I wanted to start a harm reduction interest group on campus. She directed me to the SSDP website. Why did you want to get involved/what made you decide to
#Reform19 Conference Recap
We had an incredible time at Drug Policy Alliance’s International Drug Policy Reform conference, where we were proud to serve as co-hosts of the event, and we are grateful to our friends at DPA for providing scholarships to our members. More than sixty students attending on scholarship were able to connect and exchange information with drug policy reformers and harm
Introducing New York Law School SSDP!
Written by Alana Hans ’19, Chapter Leader of New York Law School SSDP How did you hear about Students for Sensible Drug Policy? I met Scott Cecil at the Cannabis Law Institute at George Washington University Law School and he told me all about SSDP. Scott also mentioned he was a regular guest on a podcast titled Marijuana Today. I
