We’re so excited to announce the launch of the SSDP online phonebank to educate voters about the harms of marijuana prohibition! Our phonebank system allows supporters of sensible drug policy — whether or not you’re a student! — to call voters in Florida, California, Massachusetts, and Nevada to ensure they know there’s a cannabis initiative on their ballot.

Amendment 2 (Florida), Proposition 64 (California), Question 4 (Massachusetts), and Question 2 (Nevada)  will appear on each state’s ballot during this year’s presidential election, to be decided on November 8, 2016. These ballot initiatives will end marijuana prohibition and set up regulated markets in each state for the controlled production, sale, and consumption of marijuana for adult use or medical use in Florida. Do your part to help by educating them about the issue, helping them register to vote, and getting the vote out!

I can help end marijuana prohibition just by making phone calls? Yes! Voters under 35 are incredibly likely to support ending marijuana prohibition, but are also the least likely group to vote. We can improve turnout simply by telling them that a reform initiative is on the ballot! In Florida in 2014, youth voter turnout nearly doubled thanks to the medical marijuana initiative!

How do I use the phonebank?

1. Just go to legalize2016.org and create an account to get started.
2. Once you have an account, you can start making phone calls using your own phone.
3. Follow the provided script and follow the on-screen instructions to keep making calls.
4. Make a plan right now to log 100 phone calls before the election ends on November 8th.
5. Tell your friends! We’re only as effective as the amount of voters we can reach, and the more people we have phonebanking, the more voters we can reach!
6. Be sure to check the Leaderboard often to see which chapters and individuals have made the most calls!

Are there prizes? We love contests! Of course there are prizes.

• Every person — students and other supporters! — who logs at least 100 calls will receive an awesome new Start Making Sense t-shirt.
• The chapter that logs the most calls will be invited to book a talk in the spring semester with Betty & another drug policy leader, author, or criminal justice reformer who fits with the chapters’ interests.
• The top 9 individual callers will get a one-on-one mentoring session with one of these drug policy or criminal justice reform thought leaders! (Only SSDP students who log more than 250 calls qualify for this prize.)