The Students for Sensible Drug Policy held its first “Let’s Talk about Drugs Forum” Wednesday night in 180 PLC.
The University group discussed issues surrounding decriminalizing marijuana, comparing it to the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s. The forum brought a diverse group of speakers to discuss topics such as the War on Drugs and the proposed Oregon Cannabis Tax Act.
SSDP President Sam Chapman, a University student, was enthusiastic about his group’s inaugural event.
“This is essentially our coming-out party,” Chapman said. “We really hope people learn something here tonight.”
Chapman and fellow SSDP member Emily Walker expressed frustration in the misconception of their group on campus.
“There’s a stigma that comes with our group, just because the word ‘drug’ is in our name,” Walker said. “Our real goal is to just spread awareness on drug policies to students.”
Event coordinator Nate Lipton hopes this forum will help students take SSDP more
seriously on campus.
Lipton thinks that by bringing in speakers with different views on the topic, the group allows audience members to make their own decisions on drug policies.
“We want to make one thing clear,” Lipton said. “This isn’t a debate, it’s a discussion. SSDP is about education.”
Paul Stanford, founder and director of The Hemp & Cannabis Foundation, first talked a little bit about the proposed Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, which would allow residents over the age of 21 to buy and grow their own marijuana.
Tom Favreau, director of the University’s Substance Abuse and Prevention Program, discussed the main goals of SAPP, which is to provide unbiased information about drugs and alcohol to University students.
Next, University economics professor Joe Stone led a discussion that related the current prohibition of marijuana to the Prohibition era of the 1920s, comparing the rises in crime.
Matt McCally, a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, supported this argument by claiming current laws against marijuana are putting nonviolent people behind bars while providing criminal drug dealers all of the profit.
“Our main goal is to show why legalizing and taxing a safe drug such as marijuana makes for a healthier and safe society,” McCally said.
The final speaker was Jim Greig, a medical marijuana patient who uses a wheelchair because of rheumatoid arthritis. Greig used the forum as an opportunity to raise awareness on how hard it is for medical marijuana patients in Oregon to receive their medication. Currently in Oregon, patients do not have access to dispensaries.
Although the main topic of discussion was about the legalization and taxation of marijuana, Chapman wanted to make sure people aren’t getting the wrong impression about their group. Chapman and Walker put heavy emphasis on SSDP’s main goals of protecting students’ rights as well as promoting awareness on drug policies on campus.
“We’re not just a bunch of students who are trying to legalize marijuana,” Chapman said. “We want people to know that protecting our students’ rights is more important than handing out (minor in possession citations).”
[email protected]