Start an SSDP chapter.

In order to have an official SSDP Intl chapter, you need to have at least 5 people involved. Recruiting members can be a daunting task but we suggest you try the following:

• Reach out to the welfare / student life / wellbeing officer in your student union or administration.
• Identify clubs and societies with overlapping interests and co-organise events, call for sign-ups at their meetings or ask for social media shout-outs.
• See if there are any professors teaching courses about drugs, drug policy, drug research, harm reduction and social care relating to drugs, and ask to introduce SSDP at the end of one of their lectures, or if they know anyone who would be interested.
• Table on campus or at events for more sign-ups.

Pro tip: use the SSDP Intl sign-up sheet at your recruitment table.

This meeting does not have to be formal, you can do it casually in somebody's home or wherever you can find a space. During your first meeting we recommend that you introduce SSDP to the group, make sure the mission, vision and values of the organisation are understood, and establish a committee. You may organise the committee however you wish, but as an example we recommend you have a Chapter Leader (elected by vote, responsible for keeping the group on track, leading, and delegating work), a Vice-Leader (also elected, supports the leader and helps ensure the group is well maintained), and a Secretary (takes notes at meetings, organises meeting times, and informs absent members of decisions made). As your group grows, feel free to create more positions on the committee.

Join our Facebook groups, SSDP Family, SSDP International and SSDP Africa Network. Like and follow Students for Sensible Drug Policy International on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for regular updates. Once you have had your first meeting and you are getting established, we recommend you create social media accounts for your group. Using Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter to advertise your activities is a fantastic way to get recognition among young people and the network, and to attract more members.

During your first meeting or first few meetings, we ask that you and your chapter members make a plan. This plan doesn't need to be incredibly complicated or formal, but it does need to have a timeline and milestones. The timeline is up to you, whether a short-term plan of a few months to prepare and gather information, or a long-term plan of a year or two to make big changes. Get input from the chapter and use it to keep track of your goals and success. Send us the plan and we will review it to see if there's anything we can do to support you (e.g. put you in touch with useful people, send relevant resources, etc.). Once you send us a plan, we'll make you an official chapter!

You can start organising events and your activities as soon as you feel ready. You got this!

Please fill out your monthly reports and keep an eye on the monthly chapter leader newsletter for opportunities and events. Reach out with any questions or queries, we can schedule a call anytime.