Addiction to Drugs/Expert Profile

Expertise

I am committed to Harm reduction (is it a dirty word in America??), a philosophy which acknowledges that people are going to continue to use drugs despite all of the effort put into stopping it (case in point - US government drug war ... trillions of dollars, people still using ... hello??) Anyway, I advocate to support people who use drugs by reducing the harms associated with their use through needle and syringe programs, advocating for drug law reform (alcohol legal, marijuana not ... go figure?). I currently manage a service that provides primary health care, health education and needle and syringe program to people who inject. I have also worked as an "on the ground" worker for many years and am currently studying a Masters in Clinical Psychology. Happy to answer questions about blood borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis C, questions about dependency on opiates and other substances. Questions about treatment (particulary methadone and buprenorphine). Questions about harm reduction and why we bother with it. I can try to answer questions about drug tests. As an alternative to my fellow experts, I won't be judging anyone. If anyone has taken a sip of a coffee, or drunk a beer, then ... well we are all drug users, and I don't think we are going to see an end to it! Deal with the real, I say.

Experience in the area

Manage a primary health service for people who inject drugs, and have worked at that centre for 7 years

Organizations

Registered as a provisional psychologist with the Victorian Psychologists registration board (this is for psychologists working under supervision or currently studying a masters). Much of my experience is related to my work rather than to my studies

Publications

conference proceedings - IHRC 2004 & 2005, NSP Conference 2005, Stigma-Pleasure-Practice conference 2006

Education/Credentials

Bachelor of Arts (Humanities), Bachelor of Psychology with Honours, currently studying a masters of clinical psychology, completed one half of a graduate certificate in Addiction studies (transferred to psychology as it had better career prospects) - lots and lots of short training courses.

Awards and Honors

Presented at international conferences (Harm Reduction Conference in Thailand and Melbourne)

What do you like about this subject?

People who use drugs are interesting ... well actually people who use drugs are all around us!

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

I would like to see less judgment towards people who use drugs. We can't stop it, so stop judging it!

Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:

You think the drug user is the homeless guy in the gutter. The problem with perceptions of drug use is that the people who're using & are fine never get seen! If I was using heroin 1 or 2 times a month, because of the stigma, I wouldn't be telling my friends. So, people never know about the functional drug users! They only know about people who're visible & have problems ..

Something controversial or provocative about this subject

My whole profile is controversial in the US! Want a controversial statement ... Mr Bush, give up the war on drugs .... it just isn't working! Are you nuts? You used cocaine, do you think you should be in jail? What on earth ...?