society where drugs are regulated; one where adults can make their own choices about what they put into their own body, where people with drug prob- lems get help rather than receiving abuse and pun- ishment, and of course one where patients have a right to choose their own medicines.
We feel strongly that the distinction between so- called legal and illegal drugs is a false dichotomy that must be challenged, and that is why we work hard where we can to chip away at the social pre- sumptions and the vicious drug laws that contrib- ute to the oppression of everyday people. Where people have suffered as a result of our drug policies, we have been there to speak out. Our groups have campaigned for better drugs education at universi- ties and colleges, for harm reduction initiatives such as pill testing kits to be distributed by student un- ions and for other groups representing students and young people to join us in taking a stand against the war on drug users. A few months back, our activists at Leeds Metropolitan University led a campaign (and won) to get their student union to oppose the criminalisation of people who use drugs. We have stood in solidarity with young Mexicans who are being murdered every day due to inter-gang vio- lence and a senseless actual drug war that no-one other than the grim reaper seems to be
winning. When Professor David Nutt was sacked from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, we organised a protest outside Downing Street and a sustained social media campaign on Facebook (reaching over 30,000 supporters) to call for his re- instatement. SSDP now works closely with David to promote awareness of how drug harms compare to each other. We have been mentioned in local and national media from the Guardian to the Daily Tel- egraph and continue to make connections with the great and the good working for better drug laws.
We were even there at London 4/20 event in Hyde Park talking to young people about their rights.
Tere has been no one secret to our success; other than a determined growing membership, our de- mocracy, the desire to be professional and the sup- port of the wider drug policy reform movement. Special thanks are due to the drug’s charity Release who has provided us with extensive support to make our work possible.
Where does that take us now? As of March, when we hosted the first European Youth and Student Drug Policy reform conference, we voted to expand our membership to those who are not students. We are going to work harder to bring in membership
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