Same Equipment, Different Reasons: NSP Shortages Explained
You can’t open a news site or social media app without hearing about peptides these days. But what is usually missing from the surreal AI ads pasted all over Instagram is the very real impact the rise in peptide use is having on people who inject drugs.
In the last year, demand for injecting equipment on Australian needle and syringe programs (NSPs) grew by nearly 10 million units.
This increase is driven largely by a surge in performance and image enhancing drugs (PIEDs) like peptides.
Services are stretched thin but funding hasn't changed to meet demand, and the people at highest risk of hepatitis C and HIV are feeling the effects first.
User’s News spoke to NUAA's acting Harm Reduction Manager Tim Powell about what's happening, what's changed at our own postal NSP, and the importance of access to equipment for all, no matter the substance they're using.
Drawing From Experience
The bold, tattoo-style illustrations behind Australia's Support Don't Punish campaign aren’t created by a design agency, they’re hand drawn by Emily Ebdon, a Tasmanian peer worker and artist with two decades of frontline harm reduction experience.
In this spotlight, Emily talks about feeling creatively constrained in faith-based organisations, finding her voice in the drug user movement, and the process of turning real submissions from people who use drugs across Australia into vibrant artworks.
Police grabbed me for “walking with the intent of committing a crime” — I was running for a piss! | Pat’s story about being stopped regularly
Pat is a gay Aboriginal man with bipolar. He shares what it’s like to get caught with drugs and then be noticed by police for the rest of his life.
On Leadership
What is leadership and how can we — people who use or have used drugs — exercise it?
Guest editorial by Mary Ellen Harrod, NUAA CEO
A lifetime of service
Peer Worker Maureen Steele has been an active and influential peer worker for some 30 years. She has been inducted in the NUAA Hall of Fame for her tireless and outstanding commitment to our community.
Everyday Superheroes: Peers at Work
“Peer Worker” is an emerging role in the Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) space in NSW. Not only has research shown how valuable peer education and support is, services using peer workers see the difference every day as more consumers come through their doors to have more respectful and relevant interactions.
Annie’s 10 Top Tips for Stepping Up in the Drug User Movement
Annie Madden is a global drug user activist with living experience of injecting & illicit drug use, hep C and opioid treatment.
Dream big: When a peer leader turns up the volume
Annie Madden is a global drug user activist with living experience of injecting & illicit drug use, hep C and opioid treatment.
Leading with heart
Three exceptional Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) from Drug User Organisations (DUOs) around Australia give us their take on peer leadership.
Bikes, drugs, jail, bodybuilding and religion
Camil tells us about coming from Afghanistan as a refugee, using drugs and learning to tell his story
One huge band, many songs
“New drugs, old drugs — it’s still rock & roll” ♥ There are more things that bind us than separate us
Rest in Power: In Loving Memory of Jude Byrne
Jude Byrne was a hero and inspiration to the community of people who inject drugs all around the world
Millie’s story: Homo Harmo Hero!
“I got more involved with NUAA, going to their Consumer Academy courses. I trusted NUAA because I knew they were peers. I wanted to become involved in the rights of people who use drugs. I like the idea of harm reduction. It’s more “me” than abstinence.”
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT! -MOLLY'S MULTIDAY FESTIVAL GUIDE
“Thousands of ravers have gone before you, making these same mistakes – so heed my warnings and hopefully you don’t have to!”
