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Job Opportunity: Outreach Director, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, San Francisco, CA or Washington, DC

Outreach Director: Based in San Francisco, CA or Washington, DC Application deadline: Friday, April 3 Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a grassroots political advocacy organization with a member network of thousands and a national staff of six, is seeking a highly motivated, well-organized individual to help promote alternatives to the failed War on Drugs. This is a full- time, entry-level position that is ideal for a person with prior student organizing experience. SSDP currently employs two outreach directors. Due to the growing demand for our advocacy, we are hiring a third outreach director, who will be based in San Francisco, CA or Washington, DC. Interested individuals may apply for the position in either location. Although our intention is to fill the position starting in April, graduating seniors will be considered. If you cannot start full-time before May or June, we will consider starting the position on a part- time basis prior to graduation. Duties of the outreach director include: 1) Assisting students who wish to start SSDP chapters: The outreach director receives several chapter startup inquiries each day. He/she promptly responds to each inquiry and guides the student through the process of establishing a chapter on campus. The outreach director is also responsible for the development of trainings and materials that will benefit students working to start new chapters. Information on new chapter progress is tracked using database software. 2) Proactive recruitment: The outreach director proactively recruits new students to start chapters by tabling at schools, concerts, conferences and other events. He/she is sometimes asked to travel for a week or more to a specific state or region with the goal of identifying students interested in drug policy reform. 3) Providing campaign support to established chapters: The outreach director works with the associate director on developing materials and the execution of grassroots campaigns. The associate director takes the lead on creating resources for campaigns, while the outreach director works with new and inexperienced chapters on implementation. 4) Event planning: The outreach director coordinates events that require many different components (e.g. outreach, logistics, materials, etc). These events include international and regional conferences, small fundraising events, campaign rallies, and demonstrations. The outreach director is trained and supervised by the associate director, and reports directly to the executive director. Qualifications include a passion for getting young people involved in the political process; exceptional interpersonal skills, particularly when meeting new people; the ability to communicate orally with comfort and conviction, particularly over the phone; succinct, persuasive, inspiring writing, plus a close attention to detail; comfort with working nontraditional hours (occasional nights and weekends), as this is when students are most available; a desire to travel, and the ability to work well away from the office; experience working with and managing volunteers; and a firm belief that students will play a key role in ending the War on Drugs. Qualities/abilities that are valuable, but not necessary, include a demonstrated dedication to drug policy reform; experience with student organizing & activism; and a working knowledge of Apple products, Microsoft Excel, and Facebook. To apply, interested applicants should e-mail a one-page cover letter and one- or two-page resume to Executive Director Kris Krane at [email protected]. In your cover letter, please indicate (1) how you learned about SSDP’s job opening, (2) why you are interested in working with SSDP, (3) why you think this particular position is a good fit for you, (4) what experience you have in student organizing or drug policy reform work and (5) which of our offices you are interested in working from (San Francisco, CA or Washington, DC) and if your desired location is flexible. Feel free to include any additional information you deem relevant, not to exceed one page. Salary is $28,000 - $32,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits include health care and the satisfaction that comes along with changing the world for the better. Students for Sensible Drug Policy is an equal opportunity employer. SSDP has a strong commitment to diversity and, as such, women, people of color, LGBT individuals, and individuals who have been directly affected by the Drug War are encouraged to apply. If you submit a cover letter and resume, SSDP will respond to you within two weeks with either a request for additional documentation, or notification that your application is being considered. Please visit http://www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com for more information about our mission and campaigns.

Press Release: CA Student Survey -- MJ Use Stable, RX Abuse High

For Immediate Release: Jan 30, 2009 CALIFORNIA SURVEY SHOWS STUDENT MARIJUANA USE STABLE, PRESCRIPTION DRUG USE HIGH The newly released biennial Attorney General's Survey of Student Drug Use in California shows that marijuana use among 7th. 9th and 11th graders remained stable during 2007-8, but reports an "alarming rate" of prescription drug abuse. "The survey confirms that California's medical marijuana law has had no adverse impact on youth marijuana use," comments California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer. "At the same time, it shows that youth prescription drug use has been seriously underestimated in the past." Marijuana use been declining to stable ever since passage of California's medical marijuana law in 1996. For a graph, see http://www.canorml.org/prop/studentMJuse.html. According to the latest report, "Since 2003, use in the past six months has remained stable at 7% in 7th grade, 20% in 9th and 31% in 11th grade." "The most significant but disturbing overall finding of the 12th biennial survey is - because of underassessment of recreational use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs - we have previously underestimated actual levels of youth substance use. New data shows that 37 percent of 9th and 50 percent of 11th graders used either an illicit/illegal drug or a diverted prescription drug to get high at least once in their lifetime. Taking this into consideration, total lifetime use of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) use is estimated at 52 percent and 69 percent respectively. Including use of cold/cough medicines to get high, lifetime AOD 9th- grade use rises to 60 percent and 11th- grade use to 74 percent." http://safestate.org/index.cfm?navId=254 CALIFORNIA STUDENT SURVEY (CSS) 12TH BIENNIAL CALIFORNIA STUDENT SURVEY, 2007-08 Welcome to the 12th biennial California Student Survey (CSS) that was conducted during the 2007-08 school year by the Crime and Violence Prevention Center, California Attorney General's Office. This statewide biennial research continues the important work, which started in 1985, of collecting substance use data from the students themselves. Participating in the 12th CSS were 13,930 students from 115 public middle and high schools. From the reported data, the preliminary findings indicate three major trends of the 2007-08 CSS: (1) Prescription drug use by California youth is occurring at an alarming rate. (2) First-time data collected on the use of over-the-counter drugs indicate many teens are taking them to get "high." (3) Heavy users of illicit substances are still a significant group in California, a trend noted as early as the 1999 CSS. The most significant but disturbing overall finding of the 12th biennial survey is - because of underassessment of recreational use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs - we have previously underestimated actual levels of youth substance use. New data shows that 37 percent of 9th and 50 percent of 11th graders used either an illicit/illegal drug or a diverted prescription drug to get high at least once in their lifetime. Taking this into consideration, total lifetime use of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) use is estimated at 52 percent and 69 percent respectively. Including use of cold/cough medicines to get high, lifetime AOD 9th- grade use rises to 60 percent and 11th- grade use to 74 percent. The preliminary 2007-08 findings support a couple of conclusions reached in our 2005 CSS report: Prevention efforts may be "bottoming-out" and further reductions in overall prevalence may be more difficult to achieve; also, there should be specific intervention aimed at youth who are at risk of heavy and problematic substance use. Download: 12th biennial California Student Survey's Report of Highlights 12th biennial California Student Survey's Compendium of Tables 12th biennial CSS - Current Substance Use Among California Secondary Students - PowerPoint Presentation Excerpt from report at http://safestate.org/documents/CSS_12th_Highlights_Report.pdf Marijuana As shown in Figure 3, among 7th grade students there is relatively little difference between lifetime, six- month and 30-day prevalence of marijuana use (9%, 7% and 7%, respectively), reflecting that many 12- and 13-year-olds had tried marijuana only recently. Predictably, lifetime use increases dramatically to 25% in 9th grade and 42% in 11th, while differences between lifetime and current use rates widen. Current rates, in past 30 days, were 15% in 9th and 24% in 11th, about 60% of lifetime use in both grades. Since 2003, use in the past six months has remained stable at 7% in 7th grade, 20% in 9tand 31% in 11th. (Tables 2.2, 2.6-2.9, & 2.13) -- Dale Gieringer - [email protected] California NORML, 2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114 -(415) 563- 5858 - www.canorml.org

Press Release: Children's Defense Fund-California Endorses Prop. 5: Would Provide Youth with Treatment Instead of Jail Sentences

For Immediate Release: November 3, 2008 Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli at (213) 291-4190, Tommy McDonald at (510) 229-5215, or Ed Shelleby at (202) 662-3602 Children's Defense Fund-California Endorses Proposition 5 Prop. 5 Would Provide Children with Treatment Instead of Jail Sentences LOS ANGELES - Today, the Children's Defense Fund - California (CDF-CA) endorsed Proposition 5, a ballot initiative that Californians will vote on next Tuesday. If passed, Prop 5 would provide $65 million per year to counties to make drug treatment available to at-risk youths under the age of 18. Virtually no publicly-funded treatment is available now for young people. "The Children's Defense Fund supports Prop 5 because it would implement strong policies that would provide treatment and services to youths instead of arresting and incarcerating youth for minor drug offenses," said Deena Lahn, Policy Director of CDF-CA. "Putting more and more of California's children behind bars costs taxpayers too much and isn't an effective crime prevention tool. If we stop arresting children for problems that are more effectively addressed through early intervention and treatment, it will benefit every community across the state. Prop 5 is the right policy for California youths." Currently, only 10 percent of California youth who need treatment actually receive it. In 2006, there were more than 15,000 juvenile arrests for misdemeanor drug offenses. Low-income youths-frequently the group most at risk-are often first arrested and processed into the juvenile justice system before receiving any form of treatment; even then, youth programs are often inadequate. Under Prop 5, parents, teachers and doctors could all refer young people directly to these health services without the need for a criminal justice intervention. Research shows that adolescent treatment is effective in reducing arrests, improving academic performance and keeping youth in school. Prop 5 ensures that the new system of care meets the full spectrum of youths needs, including family therapy, educational and employment stipends and more. The Children's Defense Fund-California joins the League of Women Voters of California, California Nurses Association, California Federation of Teachers, Consumer Federation of California, California State Conference of the NAACP and National Council of La Raza, among others, in endorsing Prop. 5. For more information about Proposition 5, visit http://www.prop5yes.com/ ###

Video: An historic moment in global drug policy

 

SSDP is influencing United Nations drug policy and expanding internationally.

Watch videos of SSDP at the U.N.:

Then help us keep the momentum going!

http://www.ssdp.org/donate

 

Dear Friend,

The student movement to end the War on Drugs has truly gone global.

Two years ago, Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy appeared on the scene and immediately began influencing policy discussions in Ottawa. Late last year, SSDP chapters sprung up in Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Earlier this year, United Kingdom Students for Sensible Drug Policy began forming a network of chapters in Europe. And last month, I attended a United Nations forum in Vienna, Austria representing one of only 25 U.S. organizations invited to join hundreds of other international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) charged with recommending changes in global drug policy.

Believe it or not, despite the wide range of organizations present, all groups came to a consensus on recommendations that are forward thinking and grounded in reality, not dogma.

In addition to voicing SSDP's opposition to the failed War on Drugs, I made it a priority to ensure that youth concerns were included in the recommendations adopted by the global NGO community. Despite opposition by American prohibitionist groups like the Drug Free America Foundation and the Drug Free Schools Coalition, SSDP and a coalition of youth organizations succeeded in getting the NGO community to adopt the following language:

"Acknowledge that young people are disproportionately affected, both directly and indirectly, by illicit/harmful drug use and drug policy, and honouring the right of young people to be actively involved in the formation and evaluation of all facets of global drug policy"

In other words, the world is finally ready for young people to take a lead in the formation of drug policy. In fact, the chairman of the forum wrapped up the meeting with, "Its true what they say. Sometimes you have to look to the youth to lead."

But they weren't just looking for young people to lead the status quo. The recommendations submitted to the U.N. called for a drastic shift in the way that we deal with drugs and drug users:

- Acknowledging that drug policy should always be crafted and implemented with full respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms

- Recognizing that harm reduction plays an important role in mitigating many of the dangerous consequences of substance abuse, such as the spread of blood borne infections like HIV and Hepatitis

- Calling on the United Nations to treat demand reduction and harm reduction as equally or more important than supply reduction

- Calling on the United Nations to study the collateral consequences of a criminal justice approach to drug control, and to make recommendations to mitigate these harms


While the final declaration does not go as far as you and I would like, it represents a significant step forward in global drug policy.  If adopted by the United Nations, our recommendations may lead to public health based drug policies being adopted by governments around the world, which would be a welcome shift from treating drugs as primarily a criminal justice issue. And more importantly, youth will be welcomed to the forefront of this shift.

Now more than ever, Students for Sensible Drug Policy is ready to take on that challenge. By contributing to this groundbreaking work, you can take part in history in the making. http://www.ssdp.org/donate

Thank you for all of your support,

Kris Krane
SSDP Executive Director

P.S. To read the final declaration language or watch a few short video documentaries of the forum, visit http://www.ssdp.org/unitednations

Save the Date: SSDP's 10th Annual Conference! Nov 21-23

Take part in something historic...


Don't wait. RSVP for SSDP's conference today!

Dear Friends,

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since those pioneers at the Rochester Institute of Technology first called themselves "Students for Sensible Drug Policy," sparking an organization that would turn into a powerful, international movement of students working to put an end to the senseless War on Drugs.

Since then, we've seen the rise of hundreds of chapters across the U.S., with sister organizations recently sprouting up in Canada and the U.K. We've won decisive legislative victories (and yes, suffered a few setbacks), and we continue to be seen as a credible source of information by lawmakers and the media. Over the course of ten years, we've graduated thousands of alumni, many of whom forged lasting friendships with one another during our annual conferences.

So how do we do the past ten years justice? By hosting the biggest, best SSDP conference to date, of course!

SAVE THE DATE:
The 2008 SSDP International Conference and Alumni Reunion
November 21-23, 2008
The University of Maryland, College Park (just outside of Washington, DC)

Our tenth annual conference will be filled with top-notch speakers and workshops, and will provide students and supporters with opportunities to learn more about the Drug War, to lobby Congress directly, and to network with other like-minded drug policy reform advocates from Los Angeles to London. With hundreds of SSDP members and alumni from the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. planning to attend, this promises to be an exciting and historic event that will set the course for the next ten years of student-led drug policy reform activism around the world.

If you have any willingness to participate, please RSVP today, even if you are unsure of your ability to attend. Once you RSVP, we'll be able to keep you in the loop about conference programming, travel, lodging, and scholarships, and we'll direct you toward online registration once it becomes available. If you want to attend, we'll do all we can to get you there.

To RSVP today, please visit http://www.ssdp.org/conference

You can also RSVP via Facebook: http://www.ssdp.org/facebook/conference

We hope to see you there!

Amber, Kris, Micah, and Tom
SSDP's National Staff

The SSDP Voice: Summer 2007 Edition

Check out Students for Sensible Drug Policy's newsletter (below), or download the PDF (http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/voice-200707.pdf) or read it online (http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/). Senate Moves To Eliminate Drug Question http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article1.shtml House Cuts "Anti-Drug" Ad Budget http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article2.shtml Campus Change: UMD SSDP Continues Fight Against Draconian Marijuana Policy http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article3.shtml Campus Change: Two More Chapters Enact Good Samaritan Policies http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article4.shtml Supreme Court Rules on "Bong Hits" Case http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article5.shtml Senator Chafee Speaks at Northeast Regional Conference http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article6.shtml SSDP Grads Unite to Form Alumni Network http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article7.shtml SSDP Chapter Network Continues to Grow http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article8.shtml SSDP Becoming a Respected Voice on Capitol Hill http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article9.shtml Reformers & Cops Debate Drug Policy http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article10.shtml The Surreal Drug War: The New Narc on the Block http://www.ssdp.org/newsletter/200707/article11.shtml

Drug Policy Forum of Kansas: Action Alert April 25, 2007

Take Action! - Help Repeal Higher Education Act Drug Provision Take Action! - Ask Congress to Allow Medical Marijuana Research Take Action! - Support Second Chance Act for Drug Offenders ACLU Forum: Wakarusa '07 - Privacy Rights in Public Places

Call to SSDPers: Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) Summer Seminars

Last year several SSDP members came to one of our free summer seminars and had a great time. This year, we've got another exciting summer seminar lineup that I think your members will enjoy. The summer seminars offered by the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) provide an opportunity for students to explore the ideas of a society with more freedom and less paternalism, to talk one-on-one with top faculty and policy experts, and to have discussions with students from around the world.