Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald (MH) - Wednesday, August 7, 1991
R.A. Zaldivar; Herald Washington Bureau
The administration's national drug strategy "has failed to address the coupling of the epidemics of HIV and substance use," the nonpartisan commission said in a bluntly worded report. HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, causes AIDS.
The sharing of infected needles and other injection equipment is a primary form of AIDS transmission among heroin and cocaine users. Drug users can also pass the AIDS virus to their sex partners.
Almost one-third of all AIDS cases are related to intravenous drug use, leading to what the report called "twin epidemics." The report recommended that 11 states and the District of Columbia lift laws prohibiting the sale or possession of syringes without a prescription. Florida is not among those states, though some counties, including Dade and Broward, require prescriptions locally.
The AIDS commission also questioned whether the federal government has a strategy to deal with the link between AIDS and drug abuse.
The commission is an independent body created by Congress. Two of its 12 voting members are presidential appointees, and they joined in approving the report.
U.S. drug policy director Bob Martinez challenged the report, saying it "distorts the administration's position on expanding and improving drug treatment."
Charles Rangel, chairman of the House select committee on narcotics, remains "vehemently opposed" to helping addicts get needles, said spokesman James Alexander.
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