Drugs are a common reality of college campuses but addressing safe drug use is a subject not often covered.
Ferris’ Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) said their main concern is working towards more sensible laws and providing information to the public that can aid in harm reduction amongst drug users. Some critics of the group’s policies believe that harm reduction tactics such as needle swaps enable drug users. SSDP believes that resources to create safer drug use are not only important but that those resources should be decriminalized as well.
“We’re here because we recognize that people are going to use drugs, especially on college campuses, so we want to make sure that those who do use are educated and can use safely,” Ferris pre-pharmacy sophomore and SSDP member Monica Pittiglio said. “I worry that people view our group as a group just for people who think that doing drugs is fun and really the reality is that we’re a political organization that is pushing for harm reduction.”
SSDP is very active in their pursuits of safer drug use and also in marijuana legalization efforts. They recently traveled to Washington D.C. to speak with congressional leaders about restricting financial aid for students with drug convictions.
“We have a table every week in the University Center or the Interdisciplinary Resource Center where we pass out as much information as we can. DanceSafe gives us these little information cards with almost every drug you can think of—legal or illegal—and it has information on what not to take it with, what to expect if you’re going to take it and signs if someone is overdosing,” Ferris plastics engineering junior and SSDP member Logan Kucharski said.
SSDP’s next meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 22, in University Center room 211.
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