California: Meth Use by HIV-Positive Men Rising

A new study by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center found nearly one in three gay and bisexual men who tested positive for HIV at its clinic last year acknowledged using crystal methamphetamine. That is almost triple the rate of HIV-positive men who said they used crystal in 2001. Center officials presented their data, based on 19,300 tests over four years, at the 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta.

More than 10 percent of all gay and bisexual men who took an HIV test at the center last year admitted to using crystal meth, nearly double the rate in 2001. Of the total, 942 were HIV-positive. Los Angeles County public health officials said the study mirrors their own preliminary findings among gay and bisexual men recently diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

"It does surprise me," Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, director of STD control in San Francisco, said of the increase. "It's an important and serious problem."

The Gay and Lesbian Center's study showed increases of crystal meth use in all races and age groups. Later this month, Being Alive, a local coalition of people with HIV and AIDS, will start a marketing campaign on sex-seeking Web sites and in the gay press called "Get Off Now," said Executive Director Demetri Moshoyannis. A goal of the campaign, said Moshoyannis, is to "create a different social norm in the gay community, making it unfashionable to use crystal."

As meth use and HIV have become increasingly linked, collaborations have increased among those who treat substance use and those who prevent and treat HIV. Plans are underway to open a West Hollywood clinic this year to provide meth use treatment to gay and bisexual men, along with education on reducing their HIV risks.

Back to other news for June 17, 2005