“In 1998, I was just starting to wake up to the horrors of the war on drugs. A psychology undergrad at the University of Illinois, Chicago, I had just learned about the provision in the higher education act that prohibited people with drug offenses from obtaining money for college. This seemed so unnecessary and outrageous, but I feared that coming out in favor of changing drug policies would stigmatize me. I didn’t know that others felt this way about these morally-driven policies. Then I heard about a new organization, SSDP, and their first national conference. I attended, and it changed my life. I knew I was not alone and that my outrage was shared by other intelligent, motivated people. It was the start of a community that became a movement and is now a force. SSDP is the breeding ground for agents of social change.”