First, about me. I’m a health professional who’s worked in the AOD field for coming up to fifteen years. Worked mostly in community-based AOD with some stints in mental health, youth health and men’s health. I’m a member of an AOD professional association, have some links with a couple of universities, knocked off a Masters degree in the area and remain a bit of a bleeding heart as far as wanting to help people. I’m staying fairly anonymous becase of my current employment.
Secondly, about this blog. I’m a member of the ADCA Update email list and I’ve been fascinated over the years by some of the debates that go on there and on the sister list, Drugtalk. The problem with an email list is that the thread of the debate gets lost over time. Hence this blog – I’m hoping to develop an archive of debate around the key AOD issues that Australia faces.
Thirdly, my bias. As far as this blog goes, I intend on being balanced and will take a very expansive approach to the debate as long as it’s not defamatory or full of expletives. My own biases will obviously play themselves out over time but to sum me up I’d say I’m a bit of a centrist e.g. believe harm minimisation philosophy on the whole works, but abstinence remains one option that should be put forward and there should be boundaries around when / where harm minimisation philosophies are promulgated. Of course, whether that’s a centrist view could cause a debate on its own. The point is – I’m not after a one-sided debate – it’s great to hear all sides and maybe even get some agreement on things.
Now it’s over to you!