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Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) is the largest national youth-led network dedicated to ending the War on Drugs. We belong to an international grassroots network of students who are concerned about the impact drug abuse has on our communities, but who also know that the War on Drugs is failing our generation and our society.

Led by a Board of Directors primarily elected by and from our student and youth members, SSDP mobilizes and empowers young people to participate in the political process and brings young people of all political and ideological orientations together to have honest conversations about drugs and drug policy.

We are replacing the disastrous War on Drugs with policies rooted in evidence, compassion, and human rights at a grassroots level. While we focus primarily on policies that directly harm students and youth, the War on Drugs has impacted all communities, and SSDP will continue the fight until everyone is treated with fairness, dignity, and compassion.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)
Dr. Alaina M. Jaster’s involvement in the effort to keep DOI legal is both longstanding and deeply consequential. She has been one of the leading scientists engaged in this issue since the DEA first attempted to criminalize DOI in 2022. Most notably, she served as a scientific expert witness in a landmark administrative case—the first of its kind since MDMA was criminalized in 1986—challenging the agency’s attempt to place DOI and DOC into Schedule I. Dr. Jaster was on the stand for two full days, providing sworn expert testimony on the scientific utility, abuse liability, and research importance of DOI—testimony that was widely recognized as pivotal to the case. That litigation helped establish a critical legal precedent: for the first time in history, the harms imposed on scientific and medical research were considered in a drug scheduling decision. This concept of “research harm” has since become a central framework in SSDP’s science policy work and is now being actively advanced in conversations at the United Nations and in Congress. In this talk — “The Utility of DOI for the Study of Serotonin Receptors," presented at the International Society for Research on Psychedelics (ISRP) on behalf of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) — Dr. Jaster builds directly on this work. By examining DOI’s foundational role in modern science— and outlining the real-world consequences of restricting access to such compounds — Dr. Jaster offers researchers essential context at a moment of growing regulatory uncertainty. Importantly, she delivers this information in a way that is accessible, engaging, and actionable, ensuring that it reaches not only specialists, but also early-career scientists and interdisciplinary collaborators who will shape the future of the field.
Using DOI to Study Serotonin Receptors
SSDP attending the 69th Session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Austria last month. Here is what SSDPers had to say about their motivation to speak power to truth on a global scale. Want to join SSDP and have an international impact? Visit ssdp.org and become an Ambassador today!
SSDP at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs
SSDP’s PA Cannabis Day of Unity brought together a bipartisan coalition in support of legalizing cannabis for adult use in Pennsylvania. Kat Murti, SSDP Executive Director, began the day by highlighting the importance of change in Pennsylvania, and SSDP's support of SB120. To learn more, visit our blog https://ssdp.org/blog/ssdps-hosts-lobby-days-in-pennsylvania-to-legalize-cannabis/
SSDP’s Hosts Lobby Days in Pennsylvania to Legalize Cannabis
SSDP’s PA Cannabis Day of Unity brought together a bipartisan coalition in support of legalizing cannabis for adult use in Pennsylvania. Learn more about our advocacy work, and how you can become an SSDP ambassador by visiting SSDP.org.
Bipartisan Advocate Coalition and Lawmakers Call on Pennsylvania to Legalize Cannabis
Kat Murti, SSDP Executive Director, spoke at the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure regarding H330 S221. The current laws for legal age of adult-use products in MA is not sensible, as it can differ by zip code. SSDP urges legislation to remain consistent statewide. To learn more, visit ssdp.org
Why Does Legal Age For Adult-Use Products Differ By Zip Code In Massachusetts? Kat Murti- SSDP
Kat Murti, SSDP Executive Director, spoke at the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure regarding H330 S221. The current laws for legal age of adult-use products in MA is not sensible, as it can differ by zip code. SSDP urges legislation to remain consistent statewide. To learn more, visit ssdp.org
Why Does Legal Age For Adult-Use Products Differ By Zip Code In Massachusetts? Kat Murti- SSDP
SSDP Executive Director Kat Murti, and Hamilton Morris discussed drug policy and journalism at Arctic Visions 2025. In November of 2024, SSDP took on the DEA in their own courtroom, fighting to prevent the scheduling of DOI and DOC. Now, 7-OH is at risk of placement under the Controlled Substances Act. Want to learn more about SSDP's efforts to fight the War on Drugs? Visit ssdp.org
Hamilton Morris Discusses Psychedelic Journalism with SSDP Executive Director, Kat Murti
Hamilton Morris explains the history of the Controlled Substances Act, and how prohibition contributes to public health harms. The DEA has attempted to schedule DOI and DOC, two serotonergic research chemicals used frequently in scientific research. To learn more about SSDP’s efforts to protect psychedelic research, visit our website! ssdp.org
Hamilton Morris on Prohibition and Psychedelic Science: SSDP vs. DEA
Robert Rush, one of the attorneys who took on the DEA in their own courtroom, describes the impacts of placing DOI and DOC into Schedule I status. Not only would this decision perpetuate the War on Drugs, but would also lead to significant barriers in scientific research. To stay up to date on SSDP’s efforts to block research harms, visit our website! ssdp.org
Robert Rush Explains the Legal Implications of the DEA's Proposed Scheduling Plan
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