Pubdate: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 Source: Good 5 Cent Cigar (U of RI: Edu) Copyright: 2012 Good 5 Cent Cigar Contact: http://www.ramcigar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2599 Author: Audrey O'Neil Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy) ORGANIZATION ADVOCATES REASONABLE DRUG POLICIES, ENCOURAGES STUDENT INVOLVEMENT Students at the University of Rhode Island are attempting to end the war on drugs. Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), is an international grassroots network of students who are concerned about the impact drug abuse has on our communities. The organization has over 100 chapters at universities on five different continents. This year, the URI chapter of SSDP was ranked the 9th best SSDP chapter in the country by High Times Magazine. The mission of the organization is to improve illicit drug regulations on three different level; campus, state and federal. SSDP aims to make sure that students on-campus are not losing their opportunity for a prosperous future due to a substance problem or wrong decision. The organization's state goals include protecting Rhode Island's medical marijuana program from federal interference and continuing to push for more sensible state laws regarding marijuana and other drugs. At the federal level, SSDP is focused on ending the federal government's fight against medical marijuana programs and bringing attention on the amount of money spent each year on global war on drugs. SSDP President Eric Casey has personal reasons as to why he is involved with the group. "I'm involved with this organization because I firmly believe in the values it stands for. The idea of incarcerating someone because they use drugs is so accepted in our society and yet it doesn't make any sense to me. If someone actually has a drug problem, sticking them in jail with violent offenders and no access to treatment will not solve their problem. There are also plenty of people who use soft drugs like cannabis and are fully functional members of society, and yet the federal government sees cannabis as a Schedule I narcotic, like heroin," Casey said. "When I saw a group like SSDP was at URI, I knew I had to check it out and I've been here since. It's allowed me to travel to amazing places I otherwise wouldn't be able to go and network with influential and interesting people." According to Casey, the organization believes that while it is clear drug abuse can negatively impact society, the current policies do little to stop drug abuse and actually create an environment where drug dealers are free to profit off the black market, while users are left stigmatized with few treatment options. "We believe in replacing our current laws with ones that allocate resources better, starting by legalizing and regulating drugs that pose little danger to society, like cannabis, while treating hard drug abuse as a public health problem instead of a criminal justice problem," Casey said. " It's clear to us that after spending 40 years and billions of dollars on the war on drugs, if it was actually going to reduce drug use, it would've happened by now. Just like alcohol prohibition, drug prohibition is too simple a solution for a complex problem." The goal of the organization is to give the student body a safe place to openly speak their minds about drug use. SSDP seeks to support individuals who have the desire to positively impact their government and community, and to encourage students to be active participants in the democratic process. "Hopefully, URI's chapter will continue to enable URI students to play a role in the national movement to legalize cannabis and eventually end the war on drugs. As evident in a recent gallup poll, which showed 50 percent of the country supporting the taxation and regulation of cannabis, it's clear what direction the country wants to go, and I think that organizations like SSDP will remain at the forefront of the movement," Casey said. The organization hosts the annual Hempfest music festival on the URI Quadrangle in April. SSDP also holds events such as movie screenings and guest speakers and as a group, attend conferences. Last year, the organization traveled to Los Angeles for the Drug Policy Alliance International Conference. Casey had the opportunity to travel to New Hampshire for the Republican primary and was able to actually question presidential candidates about drug law reform. SSDP also testified at the statehouse in favor of the marijuana decriminalization bill, which was passed by the legislature and will go into effect in April 2013. The organization is currently planning a movie screening that will also include a panel with experts in drug policy reform, including former law enforcement officials. SSDP is also looking to collaborate with other organizations as well as businesses to improve Hempfest. "We are also working this year with a variety of different groups across the state, including the Brown University chapter of SSDP, to attempt to lobby the Rhode Island General Assembly to pass a bill that will legalize, tax and regulate cannabis for personal use in 2013," Casey said. "There will be a number of distinguished organizations working strategically to accomplish this goal and judging by the popularity of initiatives in several other states, as well as by the margin decriminalization passed in Rhode Island, we feel that this goal is within reach sooner rather than later." SSDP has meetings every Thursday, at 6 p.m. in Room 300 of the Memorial Union. If students are unable to attend the meetings, they are still able to become involved by contacting the organization on the Facebook page, www.facebook.com/urissdp , or they can follow them on twitter, "We do realize that everyone isn't looking to testify in front of senate committees, but there's a lot of different ways people can contribute. We are also always looking for faculty or other community members to work with," Casey said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom