University of Arkansas Reverses Policy Change Decision

 

Last week, the SSDP chapter at the University of Arkansas worked with campus administrators to adopt new guidelines equalizing the school penalties for student alcohol and marijuana use. The policy was announced and the change was made in the UA student handbook. Victory was ours and a sensible policy was enacted. Or so we thought...

This week, UA Chancellor Dave Gearhart repealed the change in policy.

SSDP worked on the SAFER campaign, passing a referendum with 67 percent of student voters agreeing that the penalties for marijuana possession should be equal to the penalties for student alcohol violations. Members of the UA board of administrators (including the dean of students and assistant dean for student life) worked with the students to develop new guidelines to reflect the referendum and student concerns.

But after the new guidelines were released on-line and posted throughout the residence halls, UA Chancellor Dave Gearhart called off the change in policy because he and other university officials felt it sent the wrong message. Just look at this:

1) The new campus guidelines, now moot.
2) The old sanctions.

Send a letter to the Chancellor Gearhart and tell him to respect the vote of the students and the hard work that SSDP members put into creating a sensible drug policy on campus.

FSU SSDP Pushes for Good Samaritan Policy

 

Check out this great media coverage of the Florida State University SSDP chapter campaigning for their Good Samaritan Policy on campus. The chapter spent a day last week tabling in support of their campaign and used red balloons to represent students that die from alcohol related incidents on college campuses each year. 

FSU chapter members gave some great quotes. Being on camera isn't always easy but it's clear that they were prepared with talking points. 

"Drugs really are a medical problem and not a criminal justice problem. We feel that by enacting sensible policies that reflect the fact that people are going to use drugs but reduce the harms associated with drug usage, we feel that those are the best policies," said John Mola, Students For Sensible Drug Policy. 

"A majority of students, including us, aren't aware of what the punishments are already. So I feel like greater education is always a plus and this policy in particular would help that in addition to creating a nice safety net," added Carson Zimmer, Students For Sensible Drug Policy.  

"It's really nice to just have that network behind us. we're in constant communication with national SSCP and other chapters that have been successful, just to get ideas from them," said Lauryn Harris, Students For Sensible Drug Policy.  

They also received amazing coverage from their student newspaper yesterday which included even more excellent talking points.

FSU SSDP is on their way to changing a policy on their campus. This is exactly the type of work SSDP chapters should be engaged in. If your chapter isn't currently running a campaign visit our campaigns page for ideas and resources to help you bring positive change to your community. 

SSDP and SAFER Day of Action

On April 1, SSDP chapters all over the country participated in the SAFER National Day of Action by sparking debate on their campuses about marijuana legalization and promoting the Emerald Initiative. The Emerald Initiative is SAFER’s response to the Amethyst Initiative, a call by more than 130 university presidents and chancellors to debate whether lowering the legal drinking age to 18 could reduce dangerous college drinking. It calls on college presidents and chancellors – particularly those who have signed on to the Amethyst Initiative and those at schools where SAFER Referendums have been adopted – to "support an informed and dispassionate public debate" on whether allowing college students to use marijuana more freely could result in fewer students engaging in dangerous drinking.

Check out some of the media coverage of SSDP chapters in action: 

Washington Post
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
University of Vermont
Front Range Community College
University of Virginia
University of Oregon - Eugene 
University of Kansas

Some chapters were unable to participate because of Spring Break but are planning to join the effort this Thursday, April 8. If your chapter would like to participate please sign up. 

SAFER Day of Action: April 1, 2010

On April 1st -- the first day of National Alcohol Awareness Month -- the SAFER Campuses Initiative is organizing a Nationwide Day of Action to  1) highlight the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol, and 2) inspire public debate on whether college students should be allowed to use marijuana as a safer recreational alternative to alcohol.

SSDP is working closely with SAFER to make some noise about this issue. Students across the country face suspension, expulsion, loss of housing and loss of financial aid for using marijuana, a drug that causes less harm to society and the individual. 

SAFER will provide your chapter with materials and media assistance to help you get involved and bring some media attention to your chapter and this issue. All you need to do is sign up and a rep from SAFER will be in touch shortly.

April 1st is right around the corner so if your chapter isn't confirmed to participate, sign up here!

Group Tells Kids Alcohol is Safer than Marijuana

After seeing an ad on Facebook for a "free marijuana information packet" created by the Foundation for a Drug Free World, I thought I'd check out their website. Then I watched this video:

Of course, I had to order the information packet after watching that action packed PSA complete with plenty of screaming, guns, smashing things and scary looking young people (actually, the first video I saw was marijuana specific but they didn't put that one up on YouTube...).

I received the packet this week. Inside was a little booklet titled "The Truth About Marijuana: Behind the smokescreen from a drug that destroys from the inside out."

This little booklet contains the usual misinformation and scare tactics you'd expect to find from any organization with the words "drug free" in their title. But there was one part that left me flabbergasted: Alcohol vs. Marijuana. Wow. They really want to take this one on? Here's what they have to say:

Is smoking a joint the same as drinking alcohol?

You decide. Here are the facts:

Alcohol consists of one substance only: ethanol. Marijuana contains more than 400 known toxins and cancer causing chemicals.

Alcohol is eliminated from the body in a few hours; THC stays in the body fat for months, possibly longer. Thus, a person who smokes 2 to 3 joints a week is constantly under the influence of the drug.

THC damages the immune system. Alcohol does not.

There is no intention here to minimize the dangers of alcohol abuse, which can be equally harmful. Alcohol, however, can be used in moderation without causing severe damage. Cannabis, which is used almost exclusively as an intoxicant, is far more dangerous even when used in small amounts because it's active agent continues to build up in body fat.

I could waste my time rebutting these "facts" but anyone with half a brain already knows these are flat out lies. Besides, Steve Fox, Mason Tvert, and Paul Armentano have written an entire book on the safety of marijuana in comparison to alcohol.

The claims made by the Foundation for a Drug Free World in this booklet easily make this one of the most irresponsible attempts to manipulate and lie to young people that I have ever seen. They should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves. They're also funded by the Church of Scientology.

Here's what people who live on this planet have to say about the possibility of a drug free world: