The Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy Annual General Meeting is just around the corner! We did a lot over the past year – from participating in Support Don’t Punish and Overdose Day last summer, to facilitating Youth Speak, a youth roundtable on cannabis legalization and helping with the sold-out 9/20 conference in Toronto, from developing grassroots workshops and organizing panels on local levels across Canada to participating in global initiatives with our international partners – and we expect to do even more this coming year.

Join us for the Annual General Meeting this Monday, June 24, 2017 at 5:30 PST/8:30 EST. We’ll be using a tool called Zoom to connect via video conference or you can call in by phone from anywhere – sign-up via this form to get the invite straight to your inbox on Monday morning! If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to email us.  

Get together, get pizza!

At the AGM, you’ll learn about what CSSDP has planned for the rest of 2017 and how you can get involved on an individual level and as a part of your local chapter. Contact us if you’re not currently a part of a chapter and still want to be involved, or check out your chapter’s page here.

We’re offering $25 pizza vouchers for CSSDP chapters that get together for the AGM — send us a picture of your team together participating in the AGM and a picture of your receipt in order to take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity! Please note, we only have one voucher for each chapter, so make sure to coordinate. We suggest meeting at a library, school, or a quiet coffee shop. We’ll have several more opportunities like this in the next year so if you can’t take advantage of this one, make sure to connect with your chapter, sign up to our newsletter, and stay tuned!

CSSDP’s 2017 goals

The National Board put our heads together to come up with 3 smart, achievable goals that we, as a national organization, can work towards together with CSSDP Chapters across Canada this year.

1. Naloxone training & good samaritan policies on campus

Naloxone (Narcan) is an injectable opioid antagonist drug that can be safely administered to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Despite that substance use, including illicit drug use, is part of post-secondary student culture, student populations have been largely overlooked in many efforts across the country to expand access to naloxone. CSSDP is working towards changing that. Learn how your chapter can work towards these policies on your campus too.

2. Medical cannabis coverage in student health plans

Since cannabis does not have a Drug Identification Number (DIN), it isn’t covered under typical drug spending on insurance plans. These out-of-pocket costs are a significant barrier for cannabis patients who are already struggling with mounting student debt. We’ll talk about some steps to help you advocate for your university’s student health plan to include coverage of medical cannabis for students authorized under the ACMPR.

3. Comprehensive and evidence-based cannabis education

One of the main takeaways from our youth roundtable, Youth Speak: Cannabis Legalization in the 21st Century, was the need for realistic (i.e. non-exaggerated), science-based and non-judgmental educational messaging around cannabis use, including strategies for safer cannabis consumption. We are collaborating with Canopy Growth and Parents Action on Drugs (PAD) Ontario to develop evidence-based educational tools for youth and parents in Canada. You’ll learn what we’re doing, and what steps you can take to help.

What will your Chapter do this year?

We’ll be announcing not one but two contests at the end of the Annual General Meeting. If you can’t be there, you still get to participate — but those who join us will hear the details first, and get a heads start!

Here’s a clue: another one of our goals is to beef up the resources section on the website and build up a storage bank of ready-to-go events. There will be both individual and chapter prizes, so we hope you’ll attend to get the scoop sooner than most.

Remember to fill out this form to join us for the 2017 Annual General Meeting (we’ll send you an email with log in details!), and share our poster to inspire others to get together and talk about sensible drug policy in Canada and what this year will bring for CSSDP.