Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)

We all know that words matter, but can the way we speak about a plant have legal implications? #SSDP appointed board member and Prop 19 alum Evan Nison believes so, and broaches this important topic in a recent article he wrote that was published in Legal Reader. Read more on our blog: https://buff.ly/3YleGhA #wordsmatter #startmakingsense

Introducing SSDP's Yes on 4 Campaign Educators Gina Giorgio and Jonah Martindale! Our team will be traveling all over Massachusetts to educate the community on how to register to vote, providing information on plant medicine decriminalization, and teaching young people how to talk to their parents and elders about what Yes on 4 is all about. Learn more about Yes on 4 here: https://buff.ly/4eQLYKS Email gina@ssdp.org with questions. Meet our Campaign Educators: Gina Giorgio is the Director of Strategy and Development at SSDP. She is founder of the North Carolina Psychedelic Policy Coalition, a group of professionals dedicated to supporting the expanded accessibility of psychedelic medicines through policy reform, therapy, and research. She also serves on the board of the Southeast Coalition of Psychedelic Practitioners, Sacred Roots, and Pearl Psychedelic Institute. Jonah Martindale was born in Montana and grew up in the Catskills in New York. He got his Bachelor’s in psychology and neuroscience from Naropa University and has been involved in psychedelic activism for over a decade. Currently residing in NYC as a social worker and muay thai fighter, Martindale has done service trips to India and Nepal, spent extensive time on meditation retreats, and has spoken on panels about the intersection of extreme sports and psychedelics. He is passionate about legalization efforts, therapy, human rights, and the future of psychedelics in modern society. #startmakingsense #ssdp #votevotevote #educatetoinspire

Yes on 4, The Natural Psychedelic Substances Act, is a citizen-led ballot question that will enable therapeutic access to natural psychedelic 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. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/ed_zg85p #startmakingsense #ssdp #educatetoempower 

SSDP is leading the fight to keep psychedelic research legal! 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. #SSDP will continue our multi-year effort to prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from effectively blocking crucial medical research, in an unprecedented ten-day long public hearing taking place November 12 through 25 at the DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The future of psychedelics rests in our hands. Join the fight to keep DOI and DOC legal! Visit this link https://lnkd.in/efWHD526 to sign up to be a DOI/DOC hearing attendee. #startmakingsense #ssdp #bethechange 

The DEA is trying to silence scientists and exclude key testimony from our upcoming hearing addressing the agency’s long-running bid to ban DOI + DOC, two psychedelic research substances. SSDP is working hard to get our witnesses’ testimonies heard! We are grateful to FILTER for helping get the word out. Read the article here: https://buff.ly/3XQ1IqJ #letthemspeak #ssdp #startmakingsense #researchmatters 

Sana Healing Collective is a Chicago-based wellness practice committed to the development of psychedelic-assisted therapy co-founded by SSDP alum, the brilliant Vilmarie F. Narloch, PsyD.

We’re taking the DEA to court!

SSDP is proud to announce our partnership with Overdrive Defense as a member of their inaugural Advisory Council. Overdrive is committed to destigmatizing harm reduction and lowering the frequency of overdose deaths. In addition to product donations to community-based organizations nationwide, Overdrive will donate 1% of net revenue to partner organizations (including SSDP) working on harm reduction efforts on the ground in local communities. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/e8GqrEgM

The future of MDMA therapy has been a topic of hot debate lately. On on September 11, 2024, The Assembly NC featured an article entitled, "Expanded Minds," discussing how the The Pearl Psychedelic Institute, a small nonprofit clinic in Waynesville, North Carolina has been part of a national movement to broaden the use of MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. The article features a quote from SSDP's Director of Strategy and Development, Gina Giorgio, who as the founder of the NC Psychedelic Policy Coalition has been a driving force behind the Breakthrough Therapies Research and Advisory Act, which was unanimously approved by N.C. General Assembly. The Breakthrough Therapies Research and Advisory Act would allocate $5.4 million to support two psychedelic medicine studies in N.C., one for MDMA and one for psilocybin. The bill is in limbo until the state budget is approved, and it’s likely to be addressed in the 2025 legislative session. Learn more here: https://buff.ly/4ehjvhB #research #policy #bethechange #ssdp

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. The future of psychedelics rests in our hands. Join the fight to keep DOI and DOC legal! Learn more here: https://buff.ly/3ZD2jyl #ssdp #startmakingsense #policyreform Add tags Likes 0 Comments 0 Shares