We have another new SSDP chapter in North Carolina, UNC Charlotte! The chapter leaders, Cody Dorce and Juliuse Mallari were able to navigate the process of becoming officially recognized by their school in just a few weeks.

This chapter is wholly focused on pursuing a campus-level medical amnesty policy and reducing or eliminating punitive measures (to the greatest extent possible) by the school for students found to be in possession of alcohol or other drugs. We have spent a lot of time talking about what strategy to use in order to advance these campus-level reforms. Having the country’s most effective harm reduction organization (NCHRC) in their state bolsters the argument for them that their campus (a publicly funded state University) should have rules & policies which are reflective of the laws at the state level.  North Carolina has, arguably, the best medical amnesty and overdose prevention laws in the entire country. This fact, coupled with the relationships with the student government association that have already been forged, constitutes an exciting opportunity to advance some common sense reforms on this campus.