Andrew Preston

Andrew Preston is co-founder and general manager of Exchange Supplies. He has a nursing background, training as a general nurse from 1981-1983, working in learning disability from 1984-88, and then training to be a psychiatric nurse in 1988/9, and working as a community nurse in the drugs field from 1989-2001.

Andrew became interested in drugs work after Kim Hager from Exeter drugs Project came to talk to his group, and suggested he do a placement there. It was Andrew's last placement of his training, and when he qualified he got a job as a drug team CPN (community psychiatric nurse) in North Devon.

Having resigned on principle when money for a needle exchange was diverted into other services, and a 6 month spell working for a nursing trade union, Andrew moved in 1991 with his wife Debbie and young family – Todd, 6 (now 21), Sam, 3 (now 19) and Rachel, 18 months (now 17), all often seen helping out at our conferences – to West Dorset to become GP liaison worker based in Dorchester, supporting GP methadone prescribing, coordinating needle exchange services, and training GP's and community pharmacists in West Dorset.

Andrew worked for 10 years as a frontline drug worker in Dorset establishing a GP prescribing service and active needle exchange, while at the same time getting involved in the National Needle Exchange Forum, local needle exchange planning group, GP and pharmacy staff training, safer injecting course and, of course, writing resources for drug users and drug workers.

He left in 2000 to become a full time harm reduction writer, trainer and activist and in 2001, with Jon Derricott, he set up Exchange Supplies to coordinate the supply of sterile citric acid and VitC sachets and sterile disposable stericups to injecting drug users in the UK.

Exchange Supplies which has grown to be the UK's leading supplier of drug information, injecting paraphernalia and organiser of two of the principle conferences for the UK drug field: the National Drug Treatment Conference and the National Conference on Injecting Drug Use.

Firmly committed to the social enterprise ethos, Andrew has established Exchange Supplies to reduce drug related harm, and the health and other inequalities suffered by drug users. To see the timeline describing our developments, click here.

To contact Andrew Preston, click here.