As far as I know, we are the only hospital-based team doing this sort of research in Oz. I know that alot of people are interested in our results- for a wide range of reasons, and that a slightly smaller group interested in implementing our system. My position has been that results will be made available pre-publication to those persons who collaborate with us, and those who have not put their hand up to help can wait with the rest of the world. We could not do the work we are doing without Enlighten- bless their little cotton pop-socks! Not only with the practicalities of our data collection, but also the diplomatic skills and restraint that they have shown to get this on the main-stream agenda.
The politics has taken us at least 2 years of wheeling and dealing to get things where they are now. Our current realistic goal is to establish a multistate trial of formal pill testing with the collaboration of peer-groups such as Enlighten. Such a project has been called for by a number of important people (eg see
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/w...t-document-metadata-mono_prevention.htm-copy3
(sorry- don't know how to do links!)
Personally, I'd like to see us cover major dance/rave events, as well as having an amnesty arrangement for nominated individuals to submit pills of particularly high harm reputation. We don't have a formal system to receive pills for testing from the hospital as yet (thanks for all the PM's guys!) but that should also feature if they are associated with overdose. We do have a system by which we can let people who overdose know what they've overdosed on
As far as health is concerned, we will be trying to sell this as an intervention for the higher risk, very regular group of users- because that is the only way that I think it will be bought. Of course, when I say bought, that implies that we might get funding for it! Excuse me while I put my truss back on... the chances of us getting any funding at all from the encumbant federal government is about the same as Watters becoming a Rastafarian. All of our research is done out of our own pockets- RADAR has never received a cent in grants from anyone. We are indebted to the promoters and organisers of raves who give us passes to go and research their events- without their help, most of my volunteer doctors and nurses would drop out. I would ask those of you who are promoters, and who want to get involved, to PM me and we will come to your event if you are interested.
I see the sort of results that might be made public and available in real time as those being associated (potentially) with harm. I think it is probably unrealistic initially to expect all results to be made available to all people- our official federal potential collaborators are under huge pressures (from those that some of you lot voted for!) to provide nothing at all. In their own way, they too are being very brave.
Finally we are indebted to all of you at Bluelight. The Bluelight Survey, which is being designed as we speak, will give you all the leverage you deserve. It is absolutely critical that when it comes out, you get as many of your friends - bluelighters or not- to log on and give it a go. The more people that answer it, the more welly you will have in the many spiky debates to come
