NCJ Number
186405
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: March 1999 Pages: 29-49
Date Published
March 1999
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the available data on drug use and the associated spread of HIV/AIDS in South America and the Caribbean.
Abstract
Although many information gaps remain, the emerging picture clearly shows the significant role of both injected cocaine and crack cocaine in the Brazilian HIV/AIDS epidemic, as well as the increasingly large role of injecting cocaine in the Southern Cone. The Caribbean and the Andean regions have thus far been spared the extensive diffusion of injecting drugs and its consequences; however, these regions are now experiencing a significant transition in terms of an increasing role for crack cocaine in the Caribbean HIV/AIDS epidemic and the recent introduction of heroin and the initiation of drug injection in the Andean region. Harm-reduction strategies are being implemented for the first time in recent years after a long delay, but such strategies remain primarily restricted to Brazil and, to a lesser extent, Argentina. Even in these settings, however, harm-reduction programs such as needle-exchange projects face considerable challenges through restrictive legislation and the lack of broad support. 3 tables, 2 figures, and 209 references