AboutJacqui 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 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
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)
Question Hello, i have a sister and she is addicted to weed, and sometimes sniff cocane, i'm worried that she is going to killer self, coz i have a dream that she was taking loads of drugs and that she was going to kill herself, i don't know what to do, i was going to say to her if you don't stop then this is the last time you are going to see me, but i was wondering if you could help.........
PLEASE HELP ME
Answer Hi Aimee,
I would like to put this in perspective for you. Whilst there are some harms associated with drug use, millions of people smoke marijuana and "sometimes sniff cocaine". In fact, President Obama has done this. So, yes perhaps your sister might die, but by this logic, she might also become president of the united states.
I think it is very unhelpful for you to say you are not going to see her! Firstly, you had a dream, and dreams aren't reality. Secondly, if you didn't want to "see" anyone who took drugs, you would have to put on a blindfold every five minutes. People who take drugs are just people like everyone else, and the vast majority of people who take drugs do so with no ill effects. If she DOES have a problem (I have no idea whether she does, or you are just being hysterical) then she needs support not ultimatums.
Below is an English article that I thought you might find helpful.
Best of luck,
Jacqui
The drugs do work – for a lot of people
One in three adults in the UK have taken them, as have the last three US presidents, so it's time to remove the stigma around drugs, and talk openly towards more effective, safer policy
Nice People Take Drugs – it's not a controversial statement. We all know people who have. The last three US presidents have admitted to it. Much has been suggested about the likely next UK prime minister. Nowadays if a politician admitted to it, the tabloids would struggle to make a story stick let alone generate a scandal. The fact is, a lot of people from all walks of life have at some point taken drugs and it's time we got real about it.
That's why this week we have launched a new campaign called Nice People Take Drugs. Buses will be travelling across London carrying this slogan in an attempt to get people talking about drugs and kickstart a drug policy debate.
Over one third of the adult population of England and Wales has used illegal drugs and almost 10 million people have smoked cannabis. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, one in eight Britons under 35 has taken cocaine. Some will have experimented with drugs with little apparent consequence, some will continue to use them on occasions.
The situation where people have to deny, hide or, if found out, regret their drug taking is simply absurd. The public is tired of the artificial representation of drugs in society, which is not truthful about the fact that all sorts of people use drugs. If we are to have a fair and effective drug policy, it must be premised on this reality.
It is time for the public to challenge the mantra adhered to by politicians and much of the media that society must continue to fight a war on drugs, as if they are an enemy worth fighting and ones that can be defeated. The implication that drugs are evil and that users of them ought to be made to feel ashamed suits this status quo, but in fact does not reflect most people's experience of drugs.
We all know that, for a minority, drugs and alcohol can have disastrous consequences – but ones that are only exacerbated by the current laws and are better addressed with robust and comprehensive public health campaigns.
Aside from the occasional tinkering with the outdated classification system, drugs and drug policy do not get properly discussed and politicians are afraid to debate the possibility of meaningful reform.
The government is reluctant to tackle the subject firstly because of the culture of fear of drugs that is used as justification for the zero-tolerance approach, and also due to politicians' uncertainty about how to make the transition from failed to improved drug policies.
The Nice People Take Drugs campaign is needed so that the public can give politicians the confidence that they need to abandon the ridiculous 'tough on drugs' stance and instead focus on finding real and effective ways to properly control drugs and manage drug use. This would make drugs much less dangerous and, critically, less available to children.
The current system has brought us powerful drugs like crack cocaine, skunk and methamphetamine; it has ravaged countries from Afghanistan to Colombia and has cost billions in a war on people who use drugs. Governments have next to no control over drugs and they are arguably more available and cheaper than ever before. In the UK it is often far easier for a 14-year-old to get cannabis than alcohol.
Breaking the taboo on drugs is the first step to reducing the harm that they can cause. By far the greatest risk to the majority of people who use drugs is criminalisation and stigmatisation. To simply ban substances and arrest those who use them is no more than a complete abdication of policy makers' responsibility to protect the health and well being of its people.
We must start a debate about the kind of drug policy that this country wants to see. The UK does not want drug laws that benefit massive drug cartels and are politically convenient for politicians, but ones that deal effectively and maturely with drugs and make our society a safer place for our children.
