What they're saying about our conference...

SSDP's 2011 Training Conference & Lobby Day was an inspiring event that spoke volumes to the organization's pivotal role in the effort to bring common sense to drug policy. More than 400 students from all over the country came together not just to learn about policy, but to gain the tools needed to become effective activists who are prepared to take on the challenges and opportunities facing us over the next two years. All told, we had students from 28 states and the District of Columbia representing 78 high schools, colleges, and universities across the U.S. in attendance last weekend!

We've surveyed some of our attendees and asked what they learned from this three day event and how it has impacted them. Here's what they're saying:

I learned a lot of information ranging everywhere from how to properly advertise our club and how to handle and question politicians. As a newer member of SSDP the breakout sessions regarding chapter management and events were especially useful and taught me a lot of lessons that I was able to take home.

- Kyle Seewald, Michigan State University

I can't even begin to explain how much I learned at the conference. I am a freshman and have little to no experience on lobbying for drug policy and keeping my chapter going. Before this conference I was really worried about keeping my chapter going once all of our seniors left, but now I feel completely prepared. I learned how to professionally lobby, how to keep the reputation of our club clean and professional, how to recruit and keep members, how to successfully advertise for events and meetings, and most importantly I developed strong bonds with other chapter leaders in Florida which will help when we all need to get together to lobby for the new Florida Medical Marijuana Bill. All together an amazing experience!!

- Mallory Wharton, Florida State University

I now have a better idea of how to run the SSDP chapter at Washington State University, as well as how to effectively advocate for sensible drug policies. I'm going to look up my schools policies on drugs and begin a campaign to change the ones that aren't sensible.

- Charles Rollins, Washington State University

I learned a great deal more about lobbying and how to approach elected officials. In addition I came back with so many great ideas for our chapter. The rest of our semester is going to be full of inspiration that we took from the conference. Seeing all of these amazing activists also inspired us to do even more and to really push our fight through.

- Josh Merer, West Chester University

I learned how to network (and did a lot of it, too!). Also, the workshops helped me get a grasp on how to effectively organize events that combine working to change policy (the point of the club) with campus outreach/student involvement/campus education (my officer position). On a personal level, I was really moved to continue working for the cause. Seeing so many people excited about drug policy reform made me realize that true change is right around the corner!

- Rose Bono, Virgina Commonwealth University

This conference was my third international conference, and each one is better than the last. Thank you so much to the national staff for all their hard work.

- Chris Wallis, Kent State University

SSDP has directed my rebelliousness into action, my indifference into desire for good. SSDP has thrown my life in a completely different direction with the connections to make all my dreams come true. Changed my values from wanting to be just another criminal lawyer to a position where I can cause change and do the research necessary to find the right solutions. SSDP has connected me with bright minds and more scholarly possibilities than I could have ever expected and given me the ability to develop the leadership I needed to succeed.

- Axel Bilbao, University of Central Florida

I absolutely loved the conference. The amazing energy and bond between everyone in attendance was unbelievable and a new experience for me. All of the people I met were wonderful, and it was incredible to share time with so many amazing people, including the staff who organized the event. Attending the SSDP conference has solidified my desire to attend future conferences, including the DPA conference in November. Thank you to everyone who made it one of the experiences of my life!
- Jurriaan van den Hurk, Virgina Commonwealth University

I would like to sincerely express my appreciation for everyone who contributed to the conference. One of the things that makes me passionate about our organization is that each of us have our own characteristics that make us unique and stand out from one another, although we find common beliefs and influences that help us stand together for common goals and aspirations. It truly was an unforgettable experience that will have an everlasting impression on not only our professional perspectives but interpersonal as well. If we don't stand up for injustice, who will?

- Jason Malonson, Northwest Arkansas Community College

Help support the amazing work of these chapters by making a donation today.

Mexico: First National Congress: The History and Practice of Drugs, An Anthropological Vision

Mexico City, Mexico -- On the eve of SSDP's annual training conference in Washington, DC, students at Mexico City's National School of Anthropology (ENAH) are preparing to hold their first national congress, from 11 - 14 April. Called "The History and Practice of Drugs: An Anthropological Vision," the students at the ENAH hope to dispel myths and inform various university communities in the capital about the legitimate study of drugs absent the prohibitionist paradigm.

SSDPs around the world (SSDPUK, SSDP International , Canada SSDP) often put together pathbreaking congresses and conferences. This March and April are no exception: as I write, around 400 students are descending on Washington, DC for a training conference and lobby day; Canada SSDP has just finished a crucial lobby day at Parliament; and SSDPUK is about to meet for its annual conference.

The Mexico City Congress brings a diversity of groups together. It unites SSDP Mexico with other local partners: SEISYC (Applied Visual Anthropology), CuPIHD (The Collective for An Integrated Drug Policy), ZombieNation FM, Espolea (A Civil Society Youth Organization), Biblioteca Cannabica (Cannabis Library), and the Escuela Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (ENAH, the National Anthropological School.) The event is intellectual and practical, as the workshops will help future members of SSDP understand how the organization has worked to reform failing drug policies under a regulationist paradigm. From the Congress, SSDP Mexico hopes to generate interest in forming chapters in universities, schools, centers, and institutes.

Across activities and events for three days, around thirty presenters will discuss issues such as Women and Drugs, Health and Illness, Drug Policy and Politics, Drugs and Human Rights, and Psychodelic Medicine. Espolea will present workshops on drug consumption and harm reduction, a crucial boon to Mexican youth who are often taught the ins and outs of drugs in schools by ideologically-motivated police officers. And there will be a photography exhibit and competition. The Congress begins with a keynote address by Julio Glockner, a renowned anthropologist, enitled "Altered Reality: Spiritual Drugs and Culture."

The organizers warmly welcome any who read this outside of Mexico to consider coming to the conference. There is no possibility of support save some limited accommodation space, but all interested parties are more than welcome.

AMPLIFY Artist Addition: Cas Haley

SSDP's AMPLIFY Project is proud to announce Cas Haley as our newest addition to the AMPLIFY artist family! We're excited to add an artist that has proved determination, hard work, and good vibes can take you a long way (not to mention incredible talent!). Head over to his facebook page and show him some love! Cas' story is pretty cool:

His crystalline voice and funky, easygoing beats earned Cas Haley a second-place finish on America’s Got Talent, which in turn netted him a measure of fame and a following. But the contest also locked the Texan singer/songwriter/guitarist into a major label deal that didn’t feel right. So, not wanting to be turned into a manufactured product, he struck out on his own. Connection, his Easy Star Records debut, is aptly named. It’s all about those deep-running connections that make him what he is—those unbreakable links between artist and audience, between styles of music, between art and life, and most of all, between all people. As Cas points out, reggae’s core message is, after all, "one love."

Cas is about to hit the road with AMPLIFY artists Easy Star All Stars and The Green just in time for spring. What better way to warm up after a chilly winter than signing up your SSDP chapter for some of these shows?

3/23 Mt. Snow - Mt. Snow, VT
3/31 Bourbon Quarter - Baltimore, MD
4/1 Jefferson Theatre - Charlottesville, VA
4/2 The Orange Peel - Asheville, NC
4/3 Cat’s Cradle - Carrboro, NC
4/5 The Soapbox - Wilmington, NC
4/6 The Music Farm - Charleston, SC
4/7 Freebird Live - Jacksonville, FL
4/8 Plaza Theatre - Orlando, FL (part of Florida Music Fest)
4/9 Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
4/10 State Theatre - St. Petersburg, FL
4/12 Common Grounds - Gainesville, FL
4/13 Seville Quarters - Pensacola, FL
4/14 New Earth Music Hall - Athens, GA
4/16 World Café Live - Wilmington, DE
4/17 World Café Live - Philadelphia, PA
4/20 Highline Ballroom - New York, NY (w/ AMPLIFY artist John Brown's Body)
4/21 Castaways - Ithaca, NY
4/22 Westcott Theatre - Syracuse, NY (w/ AMPLIFY artist John Brown's Body)
4/23 The Great Hall - Toronto, ON
4/25 Cabaret Mile End - Montreal, QC
4/26 Higher Ground - Burlington, VT

Congressman Jared Polis to Speak at SSDP Conference

Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) will be giving a keynote speech on the evening of March 17, as part of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy Training Conference & Lobby Day. Representative Polis is an ally of SSDP and an advocate for sensible drug policies. We are delighted to have him speak at our event.

Other speakers at the conference include:

• Ethan Nadelmann, Drug Policy Alliance
• Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake and Just Say Now
• Brian Wallace, Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)
• Aaron Houston, Students for Sensible Drug Policy
• Jill Harris, Drug Policy Alliance
• Jasmine Tyler, Drug Policy Alliance

This is very much a conference for students by students! Many sessions and workshops will be led by some of SSDP's most experienced student activists and alumni. 

If you haven't reserved your space at this amazing event yet, register today at http://www.conference.ssdp.org

In the video above, Rep. Polis speaks out against legislation that would further escalate the failed war on marijuana and explicitly calls for regulating and taxing marijuana from the well of the House floor. 

Anti-Drug War Graffiti in Mexico City

"Calderonismo" -- In reference to Mexico's President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa

These stencilled graffiti appeared on a corner I pass to go to work, Cuauhtemoc and Morelos in the Delegacion Coyoacan. It's a well-traveled corner, in between a vibrant market and a main thoroughfare. A school sits a couple of blocks away. Coyoacan is one of the oldest, most established, and wealthy places in Mexico City. It's a favorite place for a Sunday afternoon stroll. The ice creams are delicious.

The stencil on the left, with a person pointing a gun at somebody's head, with the word, Calderonismo, underneath it, suggests that the President has not offered the country anything but violence. Whether that's true or not is obviously up for debate. But Mexico is certainly beset with little but a concern for violence, much of it from the drug war, and for which some people obviously blame President Calderon.

"Ni uno mas -- Crucifix -- Ni uno mas." (Not one more.)

Since 2006, when President Felipe Calderon entered office in Mexico, 35,000 people have died. And an unkown number have disappeared without trace. The cross is a symbol to commemorate the dead, and the words "Not one more" coupled with the reference to Calderon in the previous graffiti implicitly reject the chilling statisic of 35,000 dead.

UMD SSDP Wins Four Year Campaign

Four years ago, as a sophomore at the University of Maryland (and at the time President of the UMD SSDP chapter), I was elected to the University Senate, the most powerful policy making body on campus, comprised of 90% faculty, and 10% students. In an effort to place myself in a position to influence campus drug policy, I sought and received an appointment to serve on the Student Conduct Committee. There I proposed adopting a Good Samaritan (or medical amnesty) policy that would ensure students would be protected from judicial sanctions if they called 911 for themselves or a friend who needed emergency medical attention due to an alcohol or other drug overdose. I had no idea that this would mark the beginning of a very long, difficult, and complicated saga, culminating in a Senate vote that took place yesterday.

When things began back in 2007, the idea was not exactly welcomed with open arms by the other members of the committee, many administrators were not convinced that implementing such a policy was necessary, and some feared that students would abuse the policy or that it would send a message that drinking/using drugs was acceptable. I was surprised by the level of opposition I faced, and frustrated by the painfully slow process. Even after the student body voted overwhelmingly in favor of adopting the policy, the administration did not take action.

Things were not looking good:

• Feb. 14, 2008 Hope for Good Samaritan policy dims 

• Feb. 20, 2008 Good Samaritan bill takes last gasps

My time as a Senator expired in 2008, by the time I graduated in 2009, Irina Alexander (currently the Chair of our National Board of Directors, who was leading the UMD SSDP chapter at the time) picked up right where I left off when she was elected to the University Senate. She conducted research, continued to build coalitions, met with and kept pressure on administrators to adopt a life saving Good Samaritan policy.

She and other student leaders fought tooth and nail to help pass a watered down version of the proposed policy. The "Promoting Responsible Action in Medical Emergencies" protocol provided protection for alcohol only, and did not clearly nor permanently alleviate student fears that might cause hesitation in potentially life threatening situations. This was a compromise that had to be made in order to move the issue forward, but by no means was it considered an acceptable end solution.

Students continued to encounter obstacle after obstacle:

• Apr. 15, 2009 U. Senate Samaritan policy scuttled 

• May 13, 2010 Good Samaritan will face steep opposition in fall

• Sept. 16, 2010 Amnesty protocol unlikely to become policy

But UMD SSDP was not willing to throw in the towel. In September 2010, Crystal Varkalis, Vice President of the chapter was featured in an article titled "Still Fighting" sharing her touching personal story about losing a friend to a drug overdose, which fueled her passion for this issue.

Finally, as seen in the video above, the University Senate passed the medical amnesty policy in a 78-1 vote. Additionally, The Diamondback editorialized in our favor, praising the hard work students exhibited in seeing this through.

While we still have much work to do to extend this policy to apply to all drugs, not only alcohol, yesterday marked an important victory. The people and institutions that provided invaluable time, resources, and support are too numerous to name, but without the help of others, there's no way anyone could have made this happen on their own. I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to everyone who played a part in this saga, no matter how small. You all should be proud that you helped to implement a policy that makes student health and safety a #1 priority and that could prevent the indescribable pain experienced by loved ones of students who didn't get the help they needed in time to save their life.

Words can’t even describe how it feels to see my idea come to fruition. I feel honored and humbled to have played a role in this policy change, and feel an incredible sense of pride about the work we all did to turn this dream of reform into reality.

• For more info on this long & difficult struggle, visit this page on our site.
• To learn about the issue in general and for resources to help you bring change to your campus, visit our Good Samaritan Policies campaign section.

Marijuana: Gateway to the White House

Indiana's Republican governor, Mitch Daniels, has recently been named a possible contender in the GOP presidential primary. Perhaps realizing that the Oval Office's three most recent occupants were marijuana users, the governor decided that it couldn't hurt to expand on his own bust story from May 1970.

The Daily Princetonian reported in a recent interview with Daniels that, "Officers found enough marijuana in his room to fill two size 12 shoe boxes, reports of the incident say. He and the other inhabitants of the room were also charged with possession of LSD and prescription drugs without a prescription." Of the incident, Daniels says “I had used marijuana and I was fined for that, and that was appropriate."

I applaud Governor Daniels for telling his story, and I'm truly glad his arrest didn't devastate his life as it does with so many others. But I will point out that Daniels was arrested with a relatively significant amount of marijuana. Two large shoeboxes is enough volume that it's hard to conceive of any modern hard-charging prosecutor not seeking an indictment for possession with intent to distribute in such a case. Daniels was also busted about six months prior to President Nixon signing the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (on October 27). If that law had been on books in May 1970, Daniels could have faced an array of charges, including several felonies. And if he had been busted after 1998 when the Higher Education Act's Aid Elimination Penalty took effect, he could have lost any federal financial aid as the result of a drug conviction.

I hope that when Daniels says fining him was an "appropriate" punishment he means that a fine should be the maximum penalty for possessing several pounds of marijuana and LSD. If not, does he believe it's right to punish drug arrestees more harshly than he was treated?

SSDP at the International Students for Liberty Conference 2011

I was invited to speak at this weekend's 2011 International Students for Liberty Conference in Washington D.C. This was my first experience as a speaker at a conference over 500. I found out fairly early on that nearly every state in the U.S. had registered, and that 25 countries were also registered. I met people from Romania, Australia, UK, Nigeria, and others that I am not currently remembering. The level of intellect of those in attendance was nothing short of stunning.

Students for Liberty is not at all what I thought it was; I figured it would be a bunch of Libertarians spouting off about how terrible government and bureaucracy is, and while there were some people that held these beliefs, this conference struck me as very similar to that of an SSDP conference. The political beliefs ranged from unsure independent to ultra libertarian, and everything in between. While many people debated politics for long periods of time, there tended to be one thing in common with everyone: everyone felt as though our liberties were being infringed upon.

Students for Liberty is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, which is what makes it so different from other Libertarian groups. They don't support any specific policies, nor do they support Libertarian groups that are not non-profit. From my perspective, this is what makes SFL so important.

Alexander McCobin and Sloane Frost, two co-founders of Students for Liberty, did nothing but impress me with their level of commitment to the organization they founded. Both were top notch speakers that seem to have mastered the process of organizing and delegating, and in three years successfully turned their organization into the largest student-run, liberty-promoting group in existence.

The Stossel Show was filmed at the conference, where John Stossel made it clear that he had never seen a group of politically minded students similar to SFL in his years in the media. The energy in the crowd was nothing short of electric as students from around the world lined up to ask questions during the taping. Gary Johnson spoke about his perspective of politics which blew everyone away (apparently he vetoed more bills than anyone else in the country when he was in office). While he probably will not be President of the United States anytime soon, he is still running in 2012, which continues to garner more and more media attention.

In a nutshell, and in my opinion, Students for Liberty is the future of politics. There is not another group of such incredibly intelligent students in existence, and there is absolutely no way to stigmatize the organization. SSDP and SFL will continue to foster a collaborative relationship so that we can work together to help end the failed War on Drugs and advance the ideals of Liberty across the world.

Thanks to all those that took the time to get to know me; it was an honor for me to have the opportunity to share my story. I sincerely hope that it encourages more chapters of SSDP to start up, and more people to get involved in their local chapters. Only time can tell what will happen, but if anyone from Students for Liberty has any questions about SSDP or wants to get one started, I'd be happy to help where I can. My co-presenter, Stacia Cosner, is the Associate Director of SSDP and it is her job to help students start chapters. Her e-mail address is stacia@ssdp.org. Check out the slides from our presentation on "Drug Policy Activism" here.

Staggering Cases of Injustice Resulting from the Drug War

The drug war continues to wreak havoc on the lives of U.S. citizens. It continues to wreak havoc on the lives of non-U.S. citizens, too. But we just heard of this case of an Oklahoma woman being sent to prison for a decade for dealing marijuana in front of her children; the grandmother has received a non-custodial sentence, but still has to submit to regular drug testing. You can read just how bloody-minded and unforgiving the prosecutors in the case were. The article doesn't even explain how non-existent or awful the defense team was, even though there are clear problems for the women the moment they were arrested.

The case is from Taft, OK, and the full story may be found here.

There are different dynamics in other cases of unjust imprisonment, but should you want examples which would embolden your understanding of systematic injustice, appraise yourself of the story of Tulia, Texas. And when you finish with Tulia, take a look at Hearne, TX. And when you are done with those stories, why not take a look at LA's Ramparts Division and the crisis that unit endured regarding corruption charges. And even if that doesn't explain to you how wrong this situation is, just look up Gary Webb on Wikipedia and have a look at his "Dark Alliance" series. If you don't know about Webb, then you really don't understand the fatal dynamics of anti-drug war commentary and fact finding. You don't understand how the drug wars systematize oppression.

And if you want to thank anything or anybody for this situation, then why not ask the architects, proponents, and sustainers of the drug wars -- for instance, the presidents in the Americas who coyly suggest a debate on drug legalization, but then back away from that debate -- as to how and why they can put their fellow citizens and human beings through such misery? And at such cost to the public purse.

In any event, one woman in Oklahoma just began a decade-long custodial sentence for less than $50.00 of pot. If this were Denmark, and I were Shakespeare, I would be screaming that this state is rotten. And it may be rotten to the core...

Dismantling the Drug War, Bit By Bit

The U.S. House of Representatives just voted to eliminate $34 million in funding for the National Drug Intelligence Center for fiscal year 2011 (on a 262-169 vote). While this news could seem mundane on its face, it's a huge development. This demonstrates that conservatives in Congress will finally put their money where their rhetoric has been for a long time. Drug policy reformers should be encouraged that there are indeed hidden supporters in Congress. Now we need to educate them, spreading the message that the drug war represents the most dramatic expansion of the size and scope of the federal government in the history of this country.