What does pill testing mean to users and the doctors who treat their overdoses? It is difficult to go through a week of the news cycle without hearing contributions to the pill testing debate. Often these discussions omit the perspective of the people on the ground who deal with the real-life implications of pill safety and drug usage, and the daily challenges they face. This session will provide an insight into these neglected viewpoints, exploring how its introduction would impact on the people it will affect the most. We’ll hear from speakers who work at festivals treating overdoses and their experiences working with overdose patients, their role in advocacy as well as their thoughts on pill testing.
Speakers:
Dr Lachlan Miles
Dr Lachlan Miles is a consultant anaesthetist at Austin Health, an honorary consultant at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Integrated Critical Care at the University of Melbourne. He has completed fellowships at the Austin Hospital in cardiac, hepatobiliary and liver transplant anaesthesia, and in cardiothoracic anaesthesia and intensive care at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Lachlan is also a senior medical officer at St John Ambulance with an interest in pre-hospital medicine.
Ms Alice Norvill
Alice is a pharmacist with a strong interest in pill testing and other harm minimisation strategies. She is a volunteer with DanceWize, a program run by Harm Reduction Victoria that aims to reduce substance-related harm at events around Victoria. She participated at the recent pill testing trial at Groovin The Moo, as part of Pill Testing Australia. She currently works as a specialist in poisons information at the Victorian Poisons Information Centre, and also has experience working with clients participating in the Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence program.