Hi-Ground

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Hi-Ground, Nonprofit Organization, Brisbane.

Advancing harm reduction and community care across Queensland through education, peer support, and on-the-ground work in music events, nightlife, and the AOD sector. The Hi-Ground Team is a multidisciplinary group of health care workers, social workers and peer educators, who are all passionate about caring for the Queensland and wider Australian drug user community! We hope that by providing a sp

ace free from judgement and damaging stigmatisation and instead offering support and harm reduction education we can improve the health and wellbeing of our fellow Queenslanders and broader Australian Community.

14/07/2026

🚨 Introducing Hi-Q – Queensland’s new anecdotal drvg warning system.

With Queensland no longer having access to drvg checking services, Hi-Q is our response—an anecdotal warning system that collects and shares community reports to help keep people informed and reduce harm.

Have you or someone you know experienced an unexpectedly strong effect, overdose, unusual reaction, or a suspected adulterated substance?

Hi-Q collects anonymous community reports from across Queensland to help identify emerging trends and share timely alerts with the community. By sharing your experience, you’re helping improve harm reduction and keep others informed.

You can submit a report or view current warnings through the Hi-Ground website or visit www.hi-q.org.au.

At the event, we also played a Fact or Myth game and asked:
💭 “If you’ve taken a substance before, it will always have the same effects.”
Answer = ❌ Myth!
Drvg effects can change from one occasion to the next. Factors like dose, potency, adulterants, your physical and mental health, medications, food, sleep, hydration, the setting, change of supplier and mixing with other things can all influence your experience.
That’s why staying informed, looking out for your mates, and keeping up to date with community warnings through Hi-Q can help reduce harm.

Want to help contribute to our new community info sharing system?

Peer-Based Reporting: Anonymous reports from PWUD notifying peers about a bad batch, unusual side effects, or unexpected drug contents.

Service Providers: Data from NSPs, drop-in centers, or harm reduction workers regarding localised overdose clusters or unexpected reactions you’ve heard from clients.

Post-Event/Event-Based Reports: Information gathered following music festivals or nightlife venues regarding patrons who have had unusual or negative experiences.

PartySafe

08/07/2026

We had heaps of fun running into a chemistry whiz at the event who we all agreed would make the perfect game show co-host

This round of the Drugs Wheel landed on Empathogens (think MD*MA, MDA, 4-MMC and others).

The greatest overlap on the Drvgs Wheel is between stimulants and empathogens which our game player also mentions. While many empathogens also produce stimulant effects, they are included as a separate category because some substances (such as MDAI) primarily increase serotonin activity without producing noticeable stimulant effects.

It’s also important to remember that drvgs can affect people differently, and some substances fit into more than one category. For example, many synthetic cathinones can produce both stimulant and empathogenic effects.

*Empathogens vs Stimulants*
These categories overlap, and some substances can fit into both. While both can increase energy and heart rate, empathogens are more likely to produce feelings of empathy, emotional closeness, and enhanced sensory experiences, whereas stimulants primarily increase alertness, energy, and focus.

*Things to watch out for with M**A*
Overheating and dehydration
Drinking too much water
Increased heart rate and blood pressure
Jaw clenching and teeth grinding
Anxiety or panic
Trouble sleeping or low mood afterwards

Nausea and vomiting can also happen, especially on the come-up, due to MD's effects on serotonin, overheating, dehydration, higher doses, or mixing with other substances.

*MD & antidepressants:* Some SSRIs can reduce the effects. Taking more to compensate can increase the risk of harm, and combining MD with MAOIs or other strongly serotonergic medications can be dangerous. Never stop prescribed medication to use MD without speaking to your healthcare provider.

One final takeaway: language matters. While our chemist friend uses terminology common in scientific and medical settings, as harm reduction workers we prefer person-centred, non-judgemental language like "drvg use" or "substance use" rather than "drvg abuse" or "substance abuse." Reducing stigma helps create safer, more supportive conversations.

06/07/2026

We asked a few people what their rave essentials are for a great night out 🎶✨

The answers were all different—from an asthma inhaler and prescribed medications, ear plugs to chewing gum, lighters, great music, and even “a boyfriend to carry my handbag” 😂.

While everyone’s list looks a little different, here are a few essentials we think everyone benefits from:

🤝 Be the mate you’d want around – Look out for each other. If someone seems uncomfortable or unsafe, check in or get help from staff or security.

🧠 Just Say Know! – Know what you’re taking, avoid risky combinations, and remember: you can always have more, but you can’t take less. Learn more at hi-ground.org.

💚 Consent matters – Consent should always be Clear, Ongoing, Never assumed, Specific, Enthusiastic, and Two-way. No means no.

💧 Heat, hydration & hunger – Drink water, replace electrolytes, eat before you head out, take breaks, and cool down when you need to.

📱 Have a safety plan – Charge your phone, choose a meeting spot, stay with your mates where possible, don’t leave drinks unattended, and plan a safe way home.

💊 Pack your personal items – Bring any medications you need (in their original labelled packaging where possible), along with essentials like inhalers, EpiPens, insulin, naloxone, or anything else you might need.

🩵 Check in with yourself – Your physical and mental wellbeing matter. Risks can increase if you’re tired, anxious, unwell, hungry, or mixing substances (including alcohol and medications).

Now we want to hear from you! 👇 What’s one rave essential you never leave home without?

03/07/2026

Keen to join a passionate team of harm reduction party people?! Do you live around or near Mackay region?! We’d love to hear from you and offer you free training and a spot on our team for Mushroom Valley Festival in September.

Get in touch with us asap as applications are closing soon!

01/07/2026

💙 Drvg Category Spotlights: Depressants, Opioids & Cannabinoids.
Depressants affect the central nervous system, slowing down the messages travelling between the brain and body. Common depressants include alcohol, G and benzos.
In this round the wheel landed on effects so we were looking for the following:
😌 Feeling relaxed, confident, euphoria and care-free
🐢 Slower reaction times
🗣️ Reduced inhibitions and risk-taking
⚖️ Poor coordination and balance
😴 Drowsiness, sedation, unconscious, blackouts or coma
⚠️ Nausea, vomiting, dependence

💚 Depressants vs Cannabinoids: What’s the Difference?
While depressants and cannabinoids can have similar effects, they’re not the same.
🤝 Similarities
Both can: Promote relaxation, cause drowsiness, impair coordination and reaction time, affect memory, concentration, and decision-making
🔍 Key Differences
While depressants slow activity in the central nervous system, cannabinoids act on the body’s endocannabinoid system and are more likely to alter mood, perception, appetite, and sense of time—making these the key clues that distinguished cannabinoids from depressants.

💚 Opioids vs depressants: What’s the Difference?
Opioids and depressants are often confused because they share some effects, but they are different categories with different primary mechanisms of action.

🤝 Similarities
Both can: Make you sleepy, slow your breathing, and impair coordination.

🔍 Key Differences
The biggest difference is that opioids primarily relieve pain by acting on opioid receptors, while depressants slow activity in the central nervous system more broadly. Mixing either with other depressants (including alcohol) can dramatically increase the risk of overdose.

Knowing how different categories affect the body can help you make safer, more informed decisions.

30/06/2026

Hi-Ground is all about partying safe and learning more... and we think this can be done in fun interactive ways. We went to a rave with a new game to test people’s party knowledge!

🛞 What is the Drvgs Wheel?
Not all drvgs affect the body in the same way. The Wheel is a harm reduction tool that groups substances by their primary effects on the brain and body, helping people better understand how different ones work and the risks they may carry.
The wheel categorises them into seven groups:
🔵 Depressants
🔴 Stimulants
🟣 Psychedelics
🟢 Cannabinoids
🟠 Opioids
🟡 Dissociatives
🩷 Empathogens

Understanding these categories can help you:
✔️ Recognise the effects you may experience.
✔️ Understand why mixing certain ones can be risky.
✔️ Make more informed decisions to reduce harm.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing some snap shots of interactions we had with party peeps, and explaining what the categories are, common effects, and key harm reduction tips.

Knowledge is one of the best tools for staying safer. 💙

12/06/2026

Thanks for having us archaicgathering the Hi-Ground team had such a great weekend chatting to lots of folks and running a Tripsitting workshop too! 💚

06/06/2026

We’re out at Archaic Gathering this weekend in the beautiful Proserpine area. Come find us for all your party safe needs 💚

22/05/2026

Catch a couple of Hi-Ground team members (also known around town as rave moms) cruising around at the Low End Assembly event in Brisbane on Saturday, where we will be trialing some fun new interactive harm reduction games as we test your party safe knowledge! Fun prizes to be won!

Get in early for a free feed to fuel you up for a big night of epic music. We love seeing events providing this kind of care for their community!!

We will also have free earplugs available, we hear there’s a brand new sound system in town ready to shake your bones!

Stay tuned for some funny footage of the games and maybe we discover some more harm reduction heroes 🔥

Head over to the crews instagram page if you’re looking for details and tickets to the event.

14/05/2026

Live in Queensland and passionate about harm reduction, drvg education, and event culture?

Thanks to support from the Queensland Mental Health Commission, Hi-Ground is offering FREE access to our online training portal for 12 months to passionate peers, festival/nightlife workers, and anyone wanting to get more involved in harm reduction initiatives within Queensland’s event and nightlife industry.

Free access available until May 2027.

Online training modules include:
• Introduction to Harm Reduction Principles
• Person, Environment & Drvg/s
• Light Health Disturbances
• Holding Space & Psychedelic Peer Responses
• Responding to Disclosures
• Overdose Education
• Stigma & Discrimination

You’ll also have opportunities to connect with the Hi-Ground Crew at upcoming 2026 events:
📍 Warehouse Rave — 23 May (Brisbane)
📍 Archaic Gathering — 5–7 June (Whitsunday Region)
📍 Mushroom Valley — 18–20 Sept (Mackay Region)

Interested?
Apply now through our Expression of Interest form and help build safer, more informed event communities across Queensland. Link to form jn bio or send us an email!

PeerWork HiGround CommunityCare

Address

Brisbane, QLD

Website

http://www.hi-ground.org/, https://linktr.ee/higround_qld

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