FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO PARTY
STUDENTS FOR SENSIBLE DRUG POLICY AND THE LONG ROAD TO LAW REFORM
Everyone knows that university students like drugs. Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) really, really like drugs though. Like, a lot. Since launching in 1998, Students for Sensible Drug Policy has expanded from a handful of internet-savvy uni students in New York to over 300 chapters worldwide. User’s News caught up with Beau and Sofia, who are key organisers in the NSW Branch, to talk policy, partying, police, and privilege.
UN: Alright team, give it to me straight. What is SSDP all about?
SSDP: Students for Sensible Drug Policy is a youth-led movement advocating for better drug policies. At the moment, our main focus is on tackling overpolicing (i.e. increased strip searches and Police Assistance Dog (PAD) operations), and shifting public conversations around drugs away from prohibition models, and towards alternative policy frameworks like harm reduction.
UN: So, how is SSDP working to change these conversations? What does it actually mean to influence public debate and how does that translate into policy change?
SSDP: This year, SSDP launched our ‘Be Heard Not Harmed’ (#BHNH) campaign. It’s a campaign operating across the country, and primarily focuses on putting the voices and experiences of young people who use drugs at the centre of festival harm reduction debates occurring right now in Australia.
#BHNH started as a drug-checking campaign, but quickly expanded to night life in general. It is now guided by 4 principles; community- led safety; harm reduction over prohibition; ending over-policing of people who use drugs; and celebrating the practices, values and communities of night life culture in Australia.
To answer the second part of your question, we have six key policy asks which make up the #BHNH campaign. These are:
The development and implementation of static and mobile drug checking services, linked to an early warning system;
Abolish the PAD program (i.e. get rid of sniffer dogs);
Eliminate or significantly reduce user-pay policing at festivals;
Expand and develop peer-led harm reduction initiatives;
Establish a Night Life advisory group; and
Inquiry and research into safe supply models for drugs.
That last point basically means one of SSDP’s primary goals is ending prohibition. So obviously we’re aiming high. But by demanding changes and advocating for inquiries and trials, we do see real and meaningful changes on the ground. One example would be the pill testing trials ran at Groovin’ the Moo Festival over the last two years.
UN: It’s good to see that you’re advocating for both fixed and mobile site drug checking. It’s been a big concern of ours that ‘pill testing’ only really targets people using drugs at festivals, essentially providing a health service only to a privileged sect of drug users, while excluding others.
SSDP: Yeah, drug checking is a much broader term, which is good because it is definitely needed in more contexts than just festivals. As well as simply testing the drugs to find out what they contain, drug checking also provides a point of contact between people who use drugs and harm reduction workers, which can allow for interventions, education, and referrals to other health services. A fixed site service, where anyone could just go and test any drugs they were planning on taking, means much less of a barrier to access drug checking.
We do have to acknowledge that as festival goers and students, we are treated better and generally afforded more respect in society than a lot of other people who use drugs. What is important is using and leveraging privilege to make change that benefits everyone, and we can do this by focusing on practicality and looking at what is likely to change.
Pill testing at festivals is a hot topic in the media and it’s looking more likely that it’ll be introduced in NSW sometime soon. By building on this momentum and advocating for fixed site testing, we can hopefully make sure this change will benefit everyone who uses drugs, their families, and the wider communities – not just festival-goers.
UN: I’d imagine we don’t need to convince our readers that these are all very good initiatives. What is it actually like to be a part of SSDP though? What does it look like? How does it work?
Sofia: It depends on your level on involvement– there’s a lot to do. We are involved with lots of grassroots events and initiatives that celebrate and support people who use drugs, from street actions, tostallsatfestivals, torunningworkshops. For the most part, being in SSDP means grassroots advocacy and activism. Basically, the beauty of the operation is in having people with different skills, interests, experience and passions split across a country wide network. There are going to be some people who can commit more than others, and that’s fine! Everyone just does what they can. SSDP is a grass-roots movement, led by young people.
Beau: Yeah, I’d agree with all that. For me, being in SSDP means sitting on panels, hosting events and parties, and getting involved in rallies, advocacy and activism. It’s pretty rewarding stuff. If you want to get involved, you can sign up by heading to our website, ssdp.org.au. The best thing though is to show up to the meetings and the rallies.
Recently, SSDP Sydney ran an event for International Overdose Awareness Day. We had a range of people speak at it, including medical professionals and community organisers, and ran workshops on recognising and responding to overdoses. We also had a BBQ lunch in the sun, with some DJs spinning downtempo music.
UN: On the topic of overdose, I wanted to ask you about the new law which was introduced in NSW earlier this year - drug supply resulting in death. How do you think this will affect people over the upcoming festival season?
SSDP: After the high-profile music festival deaths in NSW last summer, the NSW state government, headed by Premier Gladys Berejiklian, rushed through this new law: “drug supply resulting in death”.
Basically, this law means that if a someone supplies a drug to another person for “financial or material gain”, and someone (not necessarily the original buyer) dies as a result of this, the supplier can be liable for up to 20 years imprisonment.
There have been similar laws made in the USA, and basically the evidence suggests that such laws actually increase the risk of death to people who use drugs. The person supplying drugs is much less likely to help someone in distress. They aren’t likely to stick around when there’s a potential manslaughter charge hanging over them.
It’s worth mentioning that these suppliers are usually friends or just partygoers funding their own hobbies. This law shifts the blame onto individuals and thus not only fails to target high- level drug suppliers, manufacturers & organised crime, it completely ignores the true culprit – drug prohibition.
There was no consultation with community members before introducing this law and they didn’t consult with criminal and medical experts. It’s just tokenistic – the government wanted to look like they’re ‘fixing’ the ‘problem’ of festival deaths in the lead up to the state election, so what do they do? Rush through ill-thought out laws and cancel DEFQON.1 festival. All they’re doing is targeting low-hanging fruit, without addressing any of the structural or cultural elements that contribute to risky drug use.
““ALL THEY’RE DOING IS TARGETING LOW-HANGING FRUIT, WITHOUT ADDRESSING ANY OF THE STRUCTURAL OR CULTURAL ELEMENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO RISKY DRUG USE.””
UN: So what’s on for SSDP in the future?
SSDP: The festival seasons just started, and SSDP will be at Lost Paradise and Strawberry Fields (in Victoria) to spread our message and get more people involved.
Hopefully, in the future, we’ll be able to work together more with other groups in this space. We’re currently working towards a collaboration with Redfern Legal Centre’s ‘Safe&Sound’ project and Sniff Off – but you’ll hear more about that soon!
Although we’re going to keep advocating for systemic change, we also acknowledge that what we do is only a small part of making festivals and drug using in general less dangerous for everyone. We can’t wait for policy to change or the government to act – not when people are dying. That’s why a lot of us are involved in frontline services, like DanceWize NSW, that are making a difference on the ground.