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.
Know Your Routes: Injecting Types & Risks
How a drug enters your body — the route of administration — can really change how it feels, how fast it hits, and how long it lasts. Knowing the risks associated with the different routes of administration will help you make choices to reduce these risks.
6 things about performance and image enhancing drugs (PIEDS) or steroids
Steroids can take the form of tablets, capsules, oral liquids and injectable liquids. Common slang terms for steroids include ‘roids’, ‘gear’ and ‘juice’. Steroids are synthetic substances that promote the growth of skeletal muscle.
Tales of K — Lyla, Jane and Belle clue us in
People use drugs for many reasons. These are 3 stories about ketamine — along with some tips for reducing the harms for people who choose to go the K way
ABORIGINAL STORIES: C IT MY WAY
“I asked some of my mob who are living in the country about sharing injecting equipment and why they do it - or more to the point, why they don't have new, sterile fits for every hit.”