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Students for Sensible Drug Policy Responds to the Arrests at San Diego State

Just watch the finesse with which SDSU's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy responded to the arrest of 75 of their classmates:


SDSU-SSDP President Randy Hencken's superb performance shows how effectively one can reframe the issue by choosing smart and appropriate talking points. There are many interesting, and truthful, drug policy reform arguments that would nonetheless have been poorly applied here. As the video shows, a disciplined and mature reaction from reformers resulted in positive press coverage.

There is another lesson here, however, that should not go unnoticed: the reform argument came off strong because we had people on the ground at San Diego State well before the DEA showed up to haul students away in handcuffs. SSDP is a growing presence on campuses throughout the nation and beyond. Each new chapter increases our chances of being organized and prepared when the next such opportunity presents itself.

If you're in school and you don’t have a chapter, go here now. Whether you're looking to organize events or just stay informed and make some friends, you'll find what you’re looking for. This is where the next generation of reformers is coming from.
Permission to Reprint: This article is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!

Freedom of smoke!

We may be enemy combatants now because our way of life doesn't conform to the phony U.S. moral standards! Those freedom fighters who were busted are nice, but it's time to do more than talk and make profits from over priced pot. Stop wasting your seeds. Hemp has been food, fuel, and pharmaceutical - it's time for it to be a weapon. Take seeds to the rivers, lakes, and streams... leave seeds in puddles and storm drains... press them into some soft bread and feed them to the ducks and geese... press them into some cheese fish bait and go fishing... put them into bird feeders... press them into some ground meat and leave them for the foxes and coyotes to eat and distribute, feed seeds to your outdoor cat or your dog that you take to shit in the park or neighbors yard... FREE the WEED! SO WHAT if the result is ditch weed... it's NOT about THC content anymore, or profits... it's about freedom of choice, freedom of weed! Spread the word and your seeds. Enlist you relatives, bud buddies, and neighbors. The D.E.A. CANNOT eradicate marijuana if it grows EVERYWHERE! It's time to stop crying about prices and busts. Time to free your weed! Toss them anywhere there is water- irrigation ditches, lakes, rivers, gardens and parks... give them a chance to grow. It's Time For Revolution! Free weed is just a seed's throw away. Get every friend, neighbor, and relative to help fight the war on the war on drugs. Reforest what man has cleared in the name of progress... reclaim earth for our plants. With enough plants we could fight Global Warming! Your government cannot possibly tear out every wild weed if we all work together. In just a few years we could see it overwhelm them to a point where they will have to legalize low THC content cannabis... and that's a move in the right direction. Drop your seeds in every flower pot, planter and garden at your local courthouse, police station, library, and park. Let them know they cannot stop our plant! No more $100 quarter sacks! That's just greed and ignorance... not REAL revolution. Repost this message anywhere you can or print it out to pass around.

Good message crafting

I like his realistic straight talk about harm reduction and "good samaritan policy." If the president of SSDP @ SDSU had said that the arrests are a tragedy against 75 nonviolent pot users, or that marijuana has been used for 50,000 years and not a single death has been recorded, his message wouldn't have spread beyond some alternative weekly.

puregenius's picture

Much to be desired

I am happy to see reform efforts receiving coverage. It's very infuriating that we have to craft a message while prohibitionists distort everything and get so much coverage. The reporter made the point to say that SSDP was not defending the actions of those arrested. The distortion of personal responsibility here is nauseating. The SDSU President said the suspects preyed on their fellow students. None of these students who purchased illegal substances were coerced, blackmailed or otherwise forced into using them.

SSDP...

are kids with a cause. They give people like Calvina Fay of SOS,sleepless nights. I like.

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