Tag: students for sensible drug policy
Introducing Fordham University SSDP
Written by Aenea Towns-von Stauber ‘22, SSDP Fordham Chapter Leader How did you hear about SSDP?I heard about SSDP through MAPS. I’m interested in going into psychedelic research, and was reading about ways I could start working towards that. From there I started looking into SSDP, and I decided that if I want to go into a career involving psychedelics
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medical marijuana activist and current electoral reform advocate, I am passionate about serious efforts to reform outdated policies influencing many aspects of our society; one in particular is drug policy.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
SSDP’s Top 10 Policy Victories of 2022
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
Youth organizers pass the first marijuana decriminalization ordinance in Denton
Congratulations to the University of North Texas Students for Sensible Drug Policy (UNT SSDP) chapter and Decriminalize Denton for passing Denton Proposition B: the city’s first marijuana decriminalization ordinance! The initiative to eliminate low-level marijuana enforcement passed with an overwhelming majority at 71.6% of the votes. Tristan Seikel ’18, a UNT SSDP Alumnus and founder of Decriminalize Denton, shared his
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
Introducing Students for Sensible Drug Policy Ambassador Anjolee Spence
How did you hear about Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)? Hi! My name is Anjolee! Through my interest in psychedelic sciences, I found my way to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) website looking for volunteer opportunities when I came across the Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) Psychedelic Pipeline and learned about SSDP’s overall purpose of fighting
Students Urge the Biden Administration to Center Harm Reduction in the Methamphetamine Response Plan of 2021
President Bident recently signed the “Methamphetamine Response Act of 2021” into effect, naming methamphetamine as an “emerging drug threat” and directing the Office of National Drug Control (ONDCP) to implement a Methamphetamine Response Plan within 90 days of the signing of the bill. While we are concerned that this law is now targeting people who use methamphetamine with outdated prohibitionist
Saying Farewell to the SSDP Chapter Activity Tracker
The Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) Chapter Activity Tracker (CAT) was developed to gamify member engagement and facilitate the distribution of resources and scholarships to our chapters. The program was very successful in the years following it’s initial release, allowing chapters to compete with each other, learn from each other, and gain access to opportunities and resources along the
Introducing Drexel University SSDP
Written by Justin Serwinski ‘21, Madi Rockett ‘21, and Naomi Shifman ‘21 How did you hear about SSDP? After Justin’s initial outreach to start an organization focused on psychedelic medicine at Drexel, he met with a few faculty and students who appeared interested. During our first meeting, a faculty member discussed how it might be advantageous to integrate with SSDP
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
Interview with Jake Hadamik ’20, SSDP Ambassador
SSDP is revamping our Ambassadorship program to better integrate SSDPers outside of the traditional chapter structure into our network! If you would like to get involved as an SSDP Ambassador for your community, email outreach@ssdp.org. How did you hear about SSDP? I heard about SSDP in high school around 2006-2010 when I was beginning to look into mental health and
SSDP’s STEM in Congress List Has Launched
Edited by SSDP’s Scientific Research Issue Group Scientific and research-oriented approaches to drug policy in the United States have been historically lacking. The narratives around drugs and drug policy, especially in the 20th century, were heavily and almost exclusively dominated by police, border control, and politicians looking for punitive approaches to issues of public health, freedom, and human rights. Fortunately,
U.S. Members – Take Our Limited Drug Decriminalization Policy Position Survey
SSDP’s U.S. Policy Council is accepting feedback from our membership regarding our U.S. policy position on limited drug decriminalization measures, such as psilocybin decriminalization or ‘Decriminalize Nature’ campaigns. These measures range from decriminalizing certain plant-based psychedelics to making certain plant-based psychedelics lowest law enforcement priorities. Currently, “SSDP does not prioritize a strategy to decriminalize, legalize, or regulate currently illegal drugs
SSDP African Orientation Training: Session Results and Feedback
In early December, the brand new SSDP Africa Orientation Training was launched, with the 5 well-prepared, eager, and motivated facilitators ready to train the first batch of participants and begin the task of certifying our members. Read about who they are and the creation of this training here. The first round of this training saw 12 participants in attendance of
Psychedelic Exceptionalism vs. Decrim All
Written by Josh McMillin ‘20, Kat Ebert ‘18Edited by Abhi Dewan ‘18, Luis Montoya ‘16 After the 2020 election season, many of us were delighted to see that several US states passed historical initiatives for the progress of drug reform. Not long after, the UN rescheduled marijuana and the MORE act passed the house. The War on Drugs is steadily
Introducing University of Michigan SSDP!
Written by Connor Flanigan ’20, UMich SSDP Chapter Leader How did you hear about SSDP? Was looking for ways to get involved with positive psychedelic legislation, and google did the rest. Why did you want to get involved/what made you decide to start a chapter? I wanted to help organize my local community in the ongoing efforts around drug policy.
Introducing Our New Federal Policy Liaison!
We are excited to announce that Sarah Noon ‘18, who joined the leadership team of our U.S. Policy Council in December, is our new U.S. Federal Policy Liaison! Sarah will be primarily responsible for assisting the development and implementation of SSDP’s United States federal legislative strategies and co-facilitating our United States Policy Council.Sarah recently graduated from Oakland Community College, where
Introducing California State University Fullerton
Written by Michael Baum ‘20, Chapter Leader of California State University Fullerton How did you hear about SSDP? I heard about SSDP when looking through the MAPS website. Why did you want to get involved/what made you decide to start a chapter? I wanted to get involved because I know a lot of people are harmed by the drug policies
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
Now Available: Strategy Summit Session Recordings
Did you LOVE SSDP’s first-ever virtual Strategy Summit? Have you missed a few sessions? You can now watch all of the public sessions on SSDP’s 2020 Strategy Summit website. Over the last month, SSDPers held discussions on various important topics and issues to provide insight towards the development of a multi-year strategy that will guide the organization to continued success
New Member Added to SSDP’s U.S. Policy Council Leadership Team
On December 1st, 2020, SSDP’s U.S. Policy Council Tactical Team voted to add Sarah Noon ‘18 as a member of our leadership team. Sarah will be the point person for our Campus Change, Cannabis, and Scientific Research Issue Groups. Sarah Noon recently graduated from Oakland Community College, where she was the president and founder of OCC’s Students for Sensible Drug
SSDP Is Hiring A U.S. Federal Policy Liaison!
Have you ever wanted to work for Students for Sensible Drug Policy? We’re hiring a U.S. Federal Policy Liaison! 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 from the harms of drug prohibition. SSDP is overseen by our
Action Alert: Start Making Calls for Georgia Voter Registration and GOTV!
Students for Sensible Drug Policy is encouraging all of our U.S. members, alumni, and supporters to start making calls and get out the vote for Georgia’s special election on January 5th. Drug policy reform and the progress we have made this year is on the line this run-off election. The MORE Act, which just passed the House of Representatives on
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
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
