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Penelope Hill
Penny Hill is a PhD candidate at the Burnet Institute investigating the impact of health service use on opioid overdose among people who inject drugs, and works for the Centre for Research Excellence into Injecting Drug Use (CREIDU) and the National Naloxone Reference Group (NNRG). Penny has a background as a community health worker in harm reduction and needle syringe…
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Steph Tzanetis
Stephanie is a member of the Pill Testing Australia consortium that worked on the 2018 and 2019 ACT trials. She has qualifications in law, humanities, and alcohol and other drugs and is a physical and mental health first aider. She has been Harm Reduction Victoria’s DanceWize program coordinator since July 2013 and is a board member of Drug Policy Australia…
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Why releasing some prisoners is essential to stop the spread of coronavirus
The Australian government has been silent on prison policy in its coronavirus control measures. The well-documented history of the transmission of infectious diseases in prisons rings alarm bells for the threat of COVID-19 to prisoners and society at large. This blind spot could have a devastating effect on communities, especially Indigenous communities. […]
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COVID19 Harm Reduction for People Who Use Drugs
The following tips were developed to inform the global community of drug users on important harm reduction tips to practice during the current COVID-19 (“coronavirus”) pandemic. Please share, disseminate, and alter as needed to fit the needs of your community. And above all else, please stay safe and look after each other. […]
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Australia, you have a drug problem
As a starting point, the Government should establish a new joint parliamentary committee to critically explore our current national illicit drug strategy, with a focus on identifying gaps between demand and supply reduction and harm minimisation policy commitments, actions and impact. This work needs to focus on shaping Australia’s long-term illicit drug strategy. […]
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Ice Inquiry Makes Recommendations, But Government Has Its Head in the Sand
“The Berejiklian government has been consistently refractory to all expert advice regarding the failure and futility of its drug policy,” Dr Wodak made clear. “The short-term prospects of drug law reform and better outcomes in NSW are dismal, but the long-term prospects are excellent.” The reason being is that drug law reform is “accelerating internationally”. […]
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Decriminalisation and supervised drug consumption: call for leadership in Tasmania on drug reform
Ms Alison Lai said making drug use a criminal issue had been a proven failure throughout the world, and decriminalisation was a key step in making it a health issue. “If police find someone on the street and they are in possession of a couple of caps of ecstasy, for example, they get a warning, the drugs are confiscated and,…
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How Many More Experts Must Recommend Pill Testing Before The Government Makes It Happen?
The Inquiry recommendations were not made lightly. They are the results of months and months of reviewing the evidence, including speaking to experts, people with lived experience, and their advocates. Many of them would significantly improve the lives of people who use drugs, and contribute to a fairer and more just society. […]
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Dr Alex Wodak – Tobacco Harm Reduction Advisor
Dr Alex Wodak AM is a physician who was Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney from 1982 until he retired in 2012. Together with colleagues he helped establish Australia’s first needle syringe program, Australia’s first Medically Supervised Injecting Centre, when both were pre-legal, the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, the Australian Society of HIV…
