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Students for Sensible Drug Policy - Australia

J

JDanger

Greenlighter
Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Messages
14
Location
Sydney
Good evening BL,

Australia's first Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter has officially opened at Sydney's Macquarie University.

Here is an excerpt from SSDP's homepage to give you an idea of what it's all about:

"Students for Sensible Drug Policy is an international grassroots network of students who are concerned about the impact drug abuse has on our communities, but who also know that the War on Drugs is failing our generation and our society.

SSDP mobilizes and empowers young people to participate in the political process, pushing for sensible policies to achieve a safer and more just future, while fighting back against counterproductive Drug War policies, particularly those that directly harm students and youth."

If you're a student (even if you're not a student) and are interested in getting involved, hit us up on Facebook. We'll keep you posted on activities and meetings throughout the semester.

If you're interested in starting a chapter at your own institution, also hit us up on FB, or get in touch with our US counterparts at http://www.ssdp.org

http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?drop&ref=mb#/group.php?gid=100496586165

Presidentially yours,
 
I am not a student and I don't live in Sydney. If guys start up down in Melbourne I would probably be willing to contribute some of my time depending on exactly what your goals are.

Good luck convincing our fascist Government to change their mind. The way I see it, the second America does something we will but Australia will never be a world leader in regards to drug policy.
 
I have passed on the details to the local university union president.

Great idea, and I hope you get some good outcomes.

Just say no is exactly what people do not want to hear. (Does it remind you of your childhood? No, don't do that... No, don't eat that... No, No, No... and what do we do??)
 
drug_mentor said:
Australia will never be a world leader in regards to drug policy.
Click to expand...
Not with that attitude, fight the power! ;)
Ahh yeah, when I was a student I had the energy and lack of other commitments to believe it and try change the system. Now I'm all about circumventing the system.
Best of luck JDanger. You and your fellow members will need it.
And even though I'm not prepared to go into battle I am prepared to vote for change. Get drug policy to a point where the public can have some real impact and I'll be sticking up flyers and spreading the message in any way possible.
 
John Bermingham's book, "Dopeland" has a chapter near the end that details UQ's High Society of the early 90's. Having attended one or three of the boat cruises mentioned, and being present at the rainforest the day the Fuzz came to town I would say you have more chance of securing free tertiary education again than significantly changing Australia's drug laws.
 
Took the words out of my mouth, Schtonkalot.

Yes, it would be naive of us to think changing policy can be done quickly and easily. As was mentioned in a thread here recently, the only thing that concerns politicians more than doing the right thing is getting re-elected. If drug policy is going to change, public opinion has to change first. I don't see our group taking control of mass media outlets any time soon, but at the very least we can provide a forum for concerned youth to meet and discuss these things face to face, and if nothing comes out of it in the immediate future, at least they will have something to carry with them through later life. That, and the proactive student type surely should work to dispell the apathetic-stoner image, at least to some degree.

Busty, a well-publicised police jack-booting may be all we need to spark some legitimate public debate on this issue. They can bring the guns, we'll bring the flowers and multi-syllable words.

Either way, baby steps are steps nonetheless.
 
Make sure you screen your members :)

I worked in a bar at the university I attended for 3 years. I know the type of person to be proactive about these type of things. They are middle aged, well educated, and love to relax with a pint and a spliff.

Change will come. I just wish it had have happened already.

So much pointless money being spent chasing people who don't need jail, they need education :)
 
I imagine many a gathering for your organisation will find itself attended by the local constabulary.

I suggest you encourage members to leave their substances at home when you're stickin' it to da man about drug laws.
 
Good to see there is people out there willing to be proactive about the outdated drug laws. Ku.os to you.

If this were in Melbourne, I could definitely see myself attending it.
 
If a melbourne chapter comes to fruition then I'm there with bells and wistles with a proactive attitude to boot =D but yeah, I'm not sure about setting one up solo, maybe a group of students/bluelighters could possibly get one underway? If this were to happen, I'd be very inclined to take part.
 
Hopefully a chapter gets started in Melbourne too. You only have to spend some time in this forum, or talk to some of the uni students today who do use drugs to know that there is a lot of energy out there that could be harnessed to make effective political representation on drug policy issues for young people (and for all of us really).

Best wishes, please let us know if there are ways BL can be used to help your cause. :)
 
I would be interested if there was one opened for Sydney uni, but can non Macquarie University students really get involved with your chapter?
 
thickskin said:
I would be interested if there was one opened for Sydney uni, but can non Macquarie University students really get involved with your chapter?
Click to expand...

We're happy for anyone to get involved, really. I think the university would prefer it if we had at least 75% of our group enrolled at Macquarie, but outside help is always appreciated. At some stage in the future we will be looking at hosting talks/presentations that will be open to the public, so there'll always be plenty of room for non-Mac people to get involved. We'll be holding weekly (or at the very least, fortnightly) meetings when next semester kicks off. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for the specifics.

That said, we'll be looking to start a number of chapters at other institutions in the not-too-distant future. A nationwide organisation sounds more impressive than a renegade student group.

Here are some resources to give you an idea of what needs to be done to get a group officially recognised. It's US-based, but things aren't too different here. http://ssdp.org/orientation/

Thanks for the support,
J
 
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