Wisdom Wednesday

By Patrick Battani


These days I am hearing more and more about people who have sex under the influence. I have even heard of people “taking” drugs in some unusual ways. My first and primary job is prevention of disease. I am part of program called the “Special Population Support Program” or SPSP. SPSP is the division that deals with drug and alcohol addiction and how that relates to HIV/AIDS.

It is important to understand this correlation between the Drug/Alcohol use and HIV/AIDS. Let me walk you through the basics. Obviously, we have heard about sharing needles and how that can be risky. It is not just sharing needles; it is also sharing the “works” (what you are using to cook the drugs in and the filters). Sometimes blood can be deposited on the material used as filters or even in the mixture. So sharing any type of injection equipment is risky. We are also very concerned about the transmission of Hepatitis C, through the same process. If you are an injection drug user make sure that you are using clean equipment every time and never share your equipment with anyone else.

Unfortunately, we do not have any needle exchange programs here in South Bend. However there are some places in Chicago that offer clean needles to people. A list of them can be found on the Chicago AIDS Foundation website @ http://www.aidschicago.org/prevention/syringes.php. If you want to quit using there are many great programs in this area that can help. If you want more information about that please call the AIDS Ministries/AIDS Assist office at (574) 234-2870 and ask for “SPSP”.

Now, let’s talk about other risks associated with the use of Drugs and Alcohol. “Party Drugs” or “Club Drugs” are also an issue. Using any type of Mind or Mood altering substance does not allow you to make the healthiest choices. We know that the using certain drugs including “Meth”, “Ecstasy”, and Alcohol, may increase the chance that you may practice unsafe sexual practices.

One suggestion is that you carry condoms with you. Having them available may increase your chance of using them. Also, ask your partner if they have ever been tested and what their status is, we call this Serosorting. Serosorting is not the best practice, but it may help to make a better decision. Trying to avoid using drugs or alcohol while having sex is always the best practice…but we don’t always do things the right way!

Here at Project FIERCE we just want you to be safe. Our goal is to make sure you have a good time, we are also concerned about your health. There are some things that I would like to address before I let you go. First, if you are HIV positive and using, please understand that we are not 100% sure what could happen if you are any Anti-retroviral meds. Please take precaution!

While we would like to see a world free of recreation drug use, we will be happy with just making sure that we help to prevent you from getting HIV. HIV is Preventable! If you would like to seek help with any addiction or drug related issues, please call us or any of the rehabilitation centers in the area. A list of those can be found on the SAMSA website @ http://dasis3.samhsa.gov/.



Stay Healthy and Be FIERCE!