HomeSSDP YouTube

SSDP YouTube

SSDP YouTube Channel Feed

Visit our YouTube Channel

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)
November 11, 2024 The DEA wants to add two important research chemicals—2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetamine (DOC)—to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, despite decades of safe usage in labs and no history of abuse. DOI and DOC’s current status as unscheduled compounds has made them de facto tools for researchers studying serotonin receptors. They have featured in more than 900 research articles and show promise for pain management, combatting anxiety and depression, and preventing overdose. Scheduling DOI and DOC would create serious impediments to potentially life-saving research, and yet SSDP is the only drug policy organization currently fighting to keep DOI and DOC off the Controlled Substances Act. SSDP Science Policy Committee members Dr. Elijah Ullman, Dr. Alaina Jaster, Tanner Anderson, and Joe Hennessey discuss their own research using DOI and DOC, the considerable harm the DEA’s proposed scheduling would cause, and the role they have played in pushing back against adding DOI and DOC to the CSA. The webinar is an opportunity for those unable to attend the courtroom proceedings to hear perspectives from leading scientists on a historic hearing that is the first of its kind since 1986. Learn More & Get Updates: https://ssdp.org/dont-block-psychedelic-research/
Learn Why SSDP Is Taking the DEA to Court....
In this interview, Gina Giorgio, SSDP’s Director of Strategy & Development, and Campaign Educator Jonah Martindale sit down with MAPS' Founder and President Rick Doblin to explore the Massachusetts Question 4 Initiative. Yes on 4, The Natural Psychedelic Substances Act, is a citizen-led ballot question that will enable therapeutic access to natural p sychedelic medicines that show promise in treating mental health conditions in Massachusetts. The measure creates a regulated framework for supervised use with trained facilitators at licensed psychedelic therapy centers and removes criminal penalties for limited personal use. To learn more, visit the following resources: -ssdp.org/blog/introducing-ssdps-yes-on-4-campaign-educators/ -maformentalhealth.org/about/ -SSDP.org
An Interview with Rick Doblin: Massachusetts Question 4 Initiative
On the campaign trail, President Biden said “we should decriminalize marijuana,” promising that “everyone [with a marijuana record] should be let out of jail, their records expunged, be completely zeroed out.” We're coming to D.C. to demand he keeps that promise—and that all our elected representatives in Congress finally end the decades-long War on Cannabis. On October 6th, 2022, President Biden, in what was billed as the largest act of clemency in a generation, announced a mass pardon for people convicted of federal marijuana possession. Just 14 months later, he again issued a blanket pardon. Unfortunately, not one single person was released from prison as a result of either pardon. So whom did they actually benefit? SSDP alum Valerie Douroux Schulz and longtime ally Chris Goldstein were two of the individuals pardoned. They discuss how they were impacted, what the pardons did right, and why they didn't go far enough in this virtual kickoff to SSDP's #420WeekOfUnity.
Whom Did the Biden Pardons Help—And Did They Go Far Enough?
It a big year for cannabis on Capitol Hill! With so much activity going on—and so many different approaches and potential pieces of legislation being discussed—it's hard to keep them all straight. Sonia Norton is Senior Legislative Assistant for Congressional Cannabis Caucus Founder and Co-Chair Earl Blumenauer—one of our biggest Congressional allies when it comes to cannabis justice. She outlines the lay of the land when it comes to cannabis in Congress ahead of SSDP's #420WeekOfUnity so all our members can fully understand the larger context of our work in marijuana reform.
Cannabis & Congress With Sonia Norton Senior Legislative Assistant for Congressional Cannabis Caucus
Tens of thousands of victims of War on Drugs around the United States—including many of those who helped build what is now the legal cannabis industry—face ongoing discrimination and seemingly insurmountable obstacles to obtaining education, housing, and employment, blocking their ability to advance their quality of life and leading to a continuous cycle of economic hardship. SSDP is committed to breaking these paper shackles and re-centering justice in the cannabis movement. Coalition partner Chirali Patel of Blaze Responsibly leads this training on the need for policy reform and how advocates around the country can offer support to those seeking retroactive justice. **This is a required training for anyone who will be participating in the expungement resource fairs SSDP is hosting in D.C. as part of our 420 Week of Unity.**
Expungement & Record Clearing Training Led by Chirali Patel of Blaze Responsibly
This isn’t a left issue. This isn’t a right issue. This is a freedom issue. Tens of thousands of Americans are STILL serving long term sentences—some life sentences—for conduct involving amounts of cannabis that are far less than what dispensaries handle on a daily basis—including in states that have legalized adult use! That’s why SSDP has partnered with dozens of organizations on the left, right, and in the industry for our #420WeekofUnity. This is our moment! We’ll see you in D.C. LEARN MORE: https://ssdp.org/uniting-for-change-ssdps-420-unity-week-of-action-a-call-to-transform-cannabis-justice/ SIGN UP: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1yeV1apPne2_K4qUHZOSV5B1L2nKyYVAzcJWagB2LPpE
This is Our Moment! SSDP Executive Director Kat Murti Explains Our #420WeekOfUnity
This is our moment! See y’all in D.C. Sign up at SSDP.org. 🔥🍃
SSDP.org More details at: https://filtermag.org/420-marijuana-biden-congress/
SSDP Lobby day April 2023
Purchase Peter's book at: https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-through... Start an SSDP chapter in your community at SSDP.org/Chapters
SSDP interviews Peter Grinspoon, Harvard Medical Doctor and Author of "Seeing through the smoke."
Load More... Subscribe

Are you a company that is serious about tackling the failed War on Drugs?

Join our Corporate Partnership Program

Join Now

Sensible Society donors commit themselves to helping SSDP build a more sensible and sustainable future.

Pledge Today
© 2017-2025 Students for Sensible Drug Policy   |  1800 M St NW, #33051 Washington, DC 20036  |  202-393-5280 | ssdp@ssdp.org | Subscribe