Emily Hughes, Principal Science Advisor at the Drug Foundation 03.02.26

Whenever you get asked to speak at a conference, they always want a lengthy bio of all the ‘worky’ things you have achieved. And for me, there’s nothing more uncomfortable than standing at the side of the stage while someone reads that out loud. If I had it my way, my bio would just say, ‘This is Emily, she’s a scientist, a nature lover, a big sister and a relentless advocate for harm reduction’. That’s me, in a nutshell.

I have the privilege of working at Te Puna Whakaiti Pāmamae Kai Whakapiri (a.k.a The New Zealand Drug Foundation), where I am the Principal Science Advisor. And while the title might sound sort of fancy, working at the Drug Foundation is grounding, community-focused and a place where joy and sadness coexist on a daily basis. You might catch me behind the spectrometer checking your drugs (and please, always check your drugs!), pouring over excel spreadsheets to bring you our annual overdose report, or, sometimes, standing awkwardly side-stage at a conference while someone reads that dreaded bio.

But regardless of what I am doing, I am constantly reminded of the importance of the work we do here. When it comes to illicit drugs, our tiny little Aotearoa is a bit of a world leader in some ways. We were the first in the world to have a government sanctioned needle and syringe exchange programme (some 20 years ago), and the first to legalise drug checking – a lifesaving harm reduction service that helps people find out what is in their drugs, and how they can stay safer. In all honestly, it still kind of boggles my mind that we get to do that! On Thursday we will be at Laneway checking people’s drugs. Like what do you mean I get to listen to Lucy Dacus and keep people safe from drug harm at the same time? It’s a pretty incredible thing to be a part of.

As I was thinking of what to write, I thought that ‘The Best Is Yet to Come’ is a pretty perfect title for how I feel about drug policy and harm reduction. Yes, we have made lots of positive strides, particularly in the last 5 years. BUT there is still so much that needs to be done. I was brought up in Canada – a country that has spent years in the depths of an opioid crisis. At one stage, it felt like every week back home a friend, an old schoolmate, a community member, or one of my harm reduction peers had died of an overdose. I once asked a friend working on Vancouver’s downtown east side what was the best movie to sum up her life and she answered, entirely deadpan, ‘All my Friends are Dead’. That’s what I mean when I say joy and sadness coexist… For every great thing we get to do here, we do it knowing that we still lose around 3 New Zealanders a week to drug overdose.

Still, for me, the future is a place full of hope. This year the Drug Foundation launched ‘Safer Drug Laws for Aotearoa New Zealand,’ a book that sets out how we can make Aotearoa a safer, better place for people who use drugs and address the inequities in our health system that make it so hard for people to get help if they need it. In a nutshell, the book chronicles the incredible failure of the last 50 years of drug policy, and points to decriminalisation of drug use, coupled with a major investment in harm reduction and health services, as the way forward. Drug law reform might seem radical to some, but it is grounded in science and evidence – and most importantly, humanism.

That’s where being relentless comes in. My mum once described me that way, as a child. I heard her say it on the phone to a friend. I was offended at the time, thinking it meant I was too intense, too inflexible. But I embrace it now, because in this work, you must be relentless. Whether it’s advocating for better access to naloxone (the opioid overdose reversal drug), telling any MP who will listen about the need for drug decriminalisation or reading hundreds of research papers to gather evidence for the need for overdose prevention centres, our team must be relentless in the pursuit of a better world for people who use drugs and the people who love them.

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