I wandered into the field of addiction medicine as a country GP in Nimbin, NSW in the 1980s. Following an outbreak of Hepatitis B, I established the first rural needle and syringe exchange in NSW. Shortly after I established the first rural methadone clinic in NSW. In 2000 I helped establish Riverlands, a regional drug and alcohol service in Lismore covering Northern NSW between Tweed Heads and Grafton. In 2004 I was awarded Foundation Fellowship of the Chapter of Addiction Medicine at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. I am currently the Clinical Lead for Addiction Medicine, Northern NSW Local health District. I continue to follow my passion for addiction medicine and am also actively involved in teaching medical students as a Senior Lecturer at Sydney University through Lismore’s University College of Rural Health.
