Methamphetamine Taking a Toll on Gays
Miami Herald
Andrea Robinson
April 22, 2004
At the recent National STD Prevention Conference in Philadelphia, government
health experts presented findings indicating that crystal methamphetamine use is
contributing to the continuing spike in STDs, including HIV and syphilis, among
gay and bisexual men. Studies have shown that crystal meth use leads to greater
likelihood of being HIV-positive and having syphilis; users also tend to have
more sex partners than nonusers.
Last year, Marc Cohen - president of the United Foundation for AIDS - and health
and law enforcement officers formed the South Florida Crystal Meth Task Force to
track the drug's usage and manufacture in the region. In November, the task
force held a workshop in Fort Lauderdale to alert residents to the drug's
dangers; it drew more than 500 people. The group will hold a similar event in
Miami Beach on April 21.
Cohen started a campaign
last year called Meth Equals Death to spread the word. Campaign strategies
include logging into popular gay Internet chat rooms, offering support groups
for users in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and maintaining two Web sites that
attract people from as far away as Australia. Cohen spends as much as five hours
a day chatting online, counseling men to be tested and/or seek drug abuse
treatment. Cohen said that after two years of gaining chat room users' trust and
counseling them, most have appreciated his efforts.
Crystal costs between $80-$100 per gram in South Florida. "The price of cocaine and meth are similar in terms of quantity," said Jim Hall, executive director of Up Front Drug Information Center in South Miami-Dade, "but meth has longer duration of action. That's part of its appeal."