I was privileged to
attend a number of functions on a recent trip to New York. Each had some relevance to our field and two
were talks I gave myself.
1. Ernie Drucker gave
an oration at NYU in the law school to an audience on the subject of “Challenging
Punishment: The Road to Restorative Justice.” He coined the word ‘decarceration’
and there was a lively discussion about the dismantling of the Rockefeller
laws. 31/3/14
2. “Is the War on Drugs
Over?” A Panel Discussion on the Drug War's Effects on Human Rights and US
Policies. Vanderbilt Hall, Law School,
NYU 4/4/14
3. ‘VOCAL’ is an
American ‘users’ group which had its 15th anniversary dinner and
award ceremony (Americans are very serious about awarding deserving citizens -
unlike Australia which still has a ‘tall poppy’ syndrome in some ways). 10/4/14 http://methadone-research.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/15-years-of-client-representation-in.html
4. NYU also had a fascinating and challenging
talk by Professor Susan Lindee, University of Pennsylvania. “Are genetic
diseases genetic? Thinking about the history of Cystic Fibrosis” Larmark had many attractions, even in Darwin’s
lifetime. 16/4/14 http://postgenomic.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/lindee-are-genetic-diseases-genetic.pdf
5. I gave Mental Health
Grand Rounds at the Fort Hamilton VA Hospital at Bay Ridge, Brooklyn on “Methadone
and buprenorphine: Clinical & Research Perspectives”. The talk also touched
on hepatitis C assessment and treatment.
4/4/14
6. Also the monthly Columbia
University meeting at Faculty House, Drugs In Society Group where my talk was
entitled: “Australian Perspectives on Harm Reduction” 8/4/14
7. I also attended
Bellevue Hospital Divisional Rounds where three presentations were given,
chaired by Dr Marc Galanter. There were
interesting talks on (1) modern designer drugs, (2) opiate addiction in chronic
pain and (3) prescription opioid abuse. I
was shocked to learn that it is estimated that Americans spend 70 BILLION dollars
annually on prescription opioids, reportedly with very little benefit overall … and pain is
STILL undertreated in many cases. 2/4/14
8. Also meeting at
Rockefeller University with Prof Mary Jeanne Kreek and her lab staff. 21/4/14
My travel/food blog: http://ajbtravels.blogspot.com.au/
Also heard the “New Pavarotti”
in Cinderella at the Met: clip:
