Hello

I began my journey in paramedicine at the age of 19, working as a Paramedic in British Columbia, Canada. I was young, idealistic, and determined to make a difference,  but nothing could have prepared me for the realities I’d witness on the streets, in homes, and inside the back of an ambulance.

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Over time, my work took me into Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a place often portrayed as the epicenter of Canada’s overdose crisis, but what I saw went far beyond headlines. In short, I met a lot of people in pain. And far too often, I didn’t get the chance to meet them at all. Instead, I fought to restore their breathing, restart their hearts, and reverse the effects of toxic substances they had consumed—sometimes intentionally, more often not.

I met people who were systemically failed, again and again, by policies that prioritized punishment over care. I began to see how deeply flawed our approach to drug use was; and how paramedics were left navigating the fallout, often without the tools, support, or scope to address the root causes of drug-related harm. This work changed me. It sharpened my sense of injustice and sparked a drive to think bigger; beyond individual patient encounters, toward the systems that shape them.

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I now live and work in Tasmania, Australia, where I serve as the Director of Clinical Services for the state’s ambulance service. Unlike Vancouver, human suffering related to drug use isn’t as visible on Tasmania’s streets. Paramedics here attend only a handful of drug poisonings each month, despite the state having some of the highest rates of drug use in the country (and no sanctioned safe consumption sites). I continue to practice clinically as a paramedic and am also pursuing a PhD at Monash University. My research explores how drug policies shape paramedic practice and how paramedics can become effective advocates for upstream, health-centered policy reform.

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I founded Paramedics for Drug Policy Reform because I believe that paramedics have a powerful (and largely untapped) role to play in transforming how society responds to drug use. We’re witnesses, advocates, and change agents. And it’s time our voices were part of the conversation shaping policy.