Legalize It! Colorado Students Continue The Prop. 19 Fight

by Sara Bernard · 2010-11-10 09:31:00 UTC
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Despite or because of the defeat of Proposition 19 in California -- which would have legalized possession, recreational use, and commercial production of marijuana, within limits -- students in California and beyond are continuing the campaign's momentum.

On November 6, the University of Colorado chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) hosted a conference to address strategies for legalizing marijuana in Colorado through a state ballot measure in 2012.

In attendance: Students, community members, SSDP organizers, keynote speaker Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisicplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (the event's co-sponsor), and other high-profile speakers such as Steve Fox, director of state campaigns at the Marijuana Policy Project.

While SSDP doesn't focus exclusively on marijuana by any means -- it was founded as an international network of students against both drug abuse and the counterproductive policies of the war on drugs -- it is clearly the issue of the day. SSDP activists and conference attendees scrutinized Prop 19 for flaws, discussed ways to rectify specific mistakes, and took all ideas into account for a redrafting of a similar proposal in Colorado.

University spokesman Bronson Hilliard is quoted as encouraging the event as a way to support open debate and discussion, even though the University of Colorado strictly forbids the possession and use of illegal substances on or off campus. SSDP is not the only student group at CU fighting the war on drugs -- they're also joined by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) -- but SSDP's focus is on treading a neutral path, ending the war on drugs through effective policy and regulation, rather than advocating or condemning one substance or another.

Way to go, student activists, for forging ahead, and to CU for tolerating open discussion. Click here to follow this and other SSDP campaigns.

Photo Credit: FutureAtlas.com

Sara Bernard is a former staff writer and multimedia producer for Edutopia magazine.
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