AIDS Project Los
Angeles this week announced a series of public forums on
crystal meth and HIV, set to begin May 8. Agency officials
say a study released last summer by the Los Angeles
Gay and Lesbian Center of 19,000 men who have sex with
men tested at the center for HIV antibodies
between 2001 and 2004 showed a near doubling--from
5.8% to 10.3%--of reported crystal meth use.
Among gay and bisexual men who tested HIV-positive,
crystal use had nearly tripled--from 11.7% to
30.2%--in the same time period. Among users,
86.6% reported using the drug during sex.
"It is
clear that what was once perceived as a West Coast
phenomenon is now a national emergency," said
Craig E. Thompson, APLA executive director, in a press
statement. "This forum will a take a clear-eyed look
at the connections and freedoms men may be seeking by using
the crystal meth, along with its
downsides--crashing, depression, and long-term
effects among them."
APLA's
series of community forums is part of a comprehensive
crystal meth program begun in 2005 that offers
educational sessions for crystal users as well
as their friends, families, and sex partners. Using a
harm reduction model, the sessions for
users provide information about health resources
and how to access them. The sessions for concerned
friends teach how to identify a crystal problem and provide
strategies for coping with it.
"There has
been little discussion around why people choose to do the
drug and what trade-off they make emotionally or
physically for their choices," said Phil
Hendricks, who coordinates APLA's crystal meth
program. "We will look at the void the drug may be
filling for too many men and the cost it exacts on
their lives."
The series will
kick off on May 8 with an event titled "Crystal: The
Good, the Sad, and the Ugly." Speakers at the first
forum include writer and activist Tony Valenzuela;
Peter S. Theodore, Ph.D., of the Friends Research
Institute; and APLA addictions specialist Lydia Szamraj. The
event will be held 7-9 p.m. at the West Hollywood
Park Auditorium, 647 N. San Vicente Ave., in West
Hollywood, Calif. For more information call (213)
201-1662. (The Advocate)