I'm no slut!

August 8, 2007 3:46 PM

A friend of mine has been encouraged to go to a chemical dependency counselor...

He assessed her on the first visit, and said "in one of our subseguent visits, we have to do, by state law, a session on HIV." What's up with that? (We're in Minnesota.)

posted by wafaa to law & government (13 comments total)

Drug use - particularly heroin and meth (and probably others that I'm forgetting) - are associated with the spread of HIV, so my guess is that Minnesota requires it as a public health measure. I doubt it's a scare tactic as much as a "You should be aware of this and you might want to be tested" kind of thing.

I guess I'm not sure what exactly you're curious about. Are you asking for a justification of it, or what such a session will entail?
posted by dismas at 3:50 PM on August 8, 2007

HIV can be spread by intravenous drug use.
posted by BackwardsCity at 3:50 PM on August 8, 2007

it's about shared/dirty needles, not promiscuity.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 3:56 PM on August 8, 2007

Other drug use can spread HIV as well, though it's less well publicized than heroin. Shared crack pipes, for example. HIV infection among drug users is a serious public health crisis; I'm not surprised it's a mandated public health measure, though I don't know Minnesota law specifically.
posted by Stacey at 3:56 PM on August 8, 2007

And it's not just shared needles, but all sorts of shared drug-use equipment that can be contaminated. Sometimes people think they're doing all they need to do by using fresh needles (which is great, don't get me wrong), but then they're still sharing cookers, water, spoons, etc.
posted by Stacey at 3:58 PM on August 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

If done well HIV awareness sessions can be quite compelling. The day center for homeless men where I work has one monthly run by a sociologist of AIDS from Bryn Mawr College and it's excellent. It's totally raw, down and dirty, which is how a room full of homeless guys needs to hear it.

I take it from the thread title your friend feels there's some moral implication here I doubt there is. HIV awareness is good for just about anyone, regardless of their lifestyle choices.
posted by The Straightener at 3:59 PM on August 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

Not only is intravenous drug use implicated in HIV transmission rates, but use of drugs (particularly meth) is implicated in unsafe sex practices.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:07 PM on August 8, 2007

Beer is her drug of choice--her boyfriend, who just got out of treatment is, as I see it, "proselytizing" and since she's very insecure, opted to go with it. (Yes, he's also a controlling pr*ck.) I personally don't think she has a problem, but, you know, whatever. So, yeah, I can understand your point, Dismas, and yeah, I want some justification--shouldn't it be at the discretion of the counselor? After all, those sessions aren't cheap...but I understand where the "law is the law". Sorry if this is too chatty.
posted by wafaa at 4:13 PM on August 8, 2007

HIV passed via shared crack pipes? That sounds very "toilet seat."
posted by rhizome at 4:28 PM on August 8, 2007

Yeah, shoulda picked up on that. I can't really see HIV being passed on via crackpipe.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:36 PM on August 8, 2007

i imagine the main concern with hardcore addicts is prostitution to fund the habit, and the concomitant spread of stds.

it sounds like this girl would do better in something like AA, if she's really concerned that she's got a problem.

or regular therapy.
posted by thinkingwoman at 5:02 PM on August 8, 2007

HIV passed via shared crack pipes? That sounds very "toilet seat."

According to my AIDS sociologist from Bryn Mawr it's not. Open lip and thumb sores caused by untreated burns and whatnot. She has a whole section of her presentation devoted to safe crack stem sharing.

And OP, an HIV awareness class never killed anyone is the way I see it.
posted by The Straightener at 7:00 PM on August 8, 2007

I do some harm reduction work, but am not a doctor. Meth/crack smoking is a source of transmission of HIV and HEP C.

A normal pipe will burn/damage lips -> blood gets on the pipe -> the pipe is shared among people whose lips are also burnt. Although normal pipes are still awesome compared to improvised pipes. Modified light bulbs, travel bottles (air plane booze bottles), etc. which have all sorts of sharp and jagged edges to cut lips, thereby increasing transmission rates.

I would assume that the state law is casting a wide net around "chemical dependency" perhaps because it was easier to legislate. As far as I know alcohol dependence really only increases transmission due to unsafe sex, but talking to anyone at a greater risk is smart.
posted by dr. moot at 1:37 AM on August 9, 2007