Using Illegal Drugs Cause Hiv?

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Recreational Drugs and HIV

How Does Recreational Drug Use Affect HIV? Recreational drug use can make people more likely to be infected by HIV. Also, for people taking antiretroviral medications (ARVs) to fight HIV, there can be some serious interactions between drugs and ARVs. These interactions can lead to under- or overdoses of ARVs or recreational drugs. Some of these may be fatal. Drugs And Getting Infected With HIV Using alcohol or drugs before or during...

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Illegal Drugs and Lab Results

Hello, I'm a 29 year old male and I've been HIV+ for several years now. I have taken several different combos of medications since I was first diagnosed. At the present time, I do NOT take any medications and my health is good. My most...

Response from Brian Boyle, M.D., J.D.

Cornell University, Weill Medical College

It is my opinion that the risks of recreational drugs are significant and there are no data that support an argument that they effectively relieve stress or provide any other health benefit. Some of the drugs you list can cause, and probably are... Read more »

worried about drug resistance due to illegal drug use

My best friend is hiv positive and has been on anti-viral drugs since about 4 years ago. His viral load is always undetectable and his t-cell count has jumped from 90 to 400 over the past years. Now he feels that he is fine because he never even...

Response from Susan Little, M.D.

University of California San Diego

I understand your concern. As with many illicit drugs, we have limited information on the true effects that these drugs have on antiretroviral drugs. My personal experience has been that the greatest risk of "recreational" drug use is... Read more »

Marinol+Sustivia+illegal drug testing

Dear Dr.At this time I am taking Sustivia, Combivir, Difulcan,Serzone, Xanax, and Marinol.My work place performsrandom drug testing. I am very worried about one or moreof these drugs giving me a false positive. Especiallythe Marinol and Sustivia. Am...

Response from Cal Cohen, M.D., M.S.

Harvard Medical School

Dear Bob,If you are taking marinol, you will test postitive for marijuana. It is not a false positive - marinol is THC, the active component of pot, so it is what the test is looking for. If you have a doctor's letter, that may not be a... Read more »

Do HIV meds cause false positives on job drug tests?

I am about to start a new job and would like to keep my HIV status as private as possible. The job requires a drug test prior to employment and possibly periodic tests during employment. I am just stopping Crixivan and Zerit for Viracept and...

Response from Cal Cohen, M.D., M.S.

Harvard Medical School

Sustiva can cause a false-positive drug test for cannabis (marijuana). No information on how to get around this; you might try having your physician run the test confidentially a time or two before this becomes an issue. Be sure to stay... Read more »

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CAN YOU KNOWINGLY GIVE HIV TO SOMEONE? UM ILLEGAL!

Posted by Niki

My best friend tested HIV positive yesterday. How he got to this point is mind blowing to me. He and his boyfriend of four years broke up earlier this year. My cousin came to live with me and his then ex-tried coming back in to the future. That was... Read more »

Is it illegal to infect somebody knowingly?

Posted by Anonymous, 2 Replies

if somebody lies to you about their HIV status and then goes on having sex with you and then you end up getting HIV, is that illegal?

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The way we address HIV is cause for concern.

The truth is that there are millions of people living to whom HIV has not caused illness and death. This information brings joy and hope to the heart of any person who has ever dreaded the onset of AIDS.

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