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Recognition of NIDA's PSA Campaign Connecting Drub Abuse with Risk of HIV/AIDS

Date: Dec. 7, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Drugs


RECOGNITION OF NIDA'S PSA CAMPAIGN CONNECTING DRUG ABUSE WITH RISK OF HIV/AIDS -- (Extensions of Remarks - December 07, 2005)

* Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on this our first day in session following World AIDS day, I rise to recognize a public awareness campaign released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that brings critical attention to the dangerous link between drug abuse and HIV/AIDS.

* This campaign seeks to inform our youth how drug abuse can impair judgment and cause risky sexual behaviors that increase the danger of contracting or transmitting HIV.

* The connection between drug abuse and HIV/AIDS isn't limited to the risks of injecting drugs and being infected by contaminated needles. It is much bigger than that. Drug or alcohol intoxication changes behavior--inhibitions disappear and the ability to make good decisions is impaired.

* Only 1 in 50 high school students report having ever injected an illegal drug. However, young Americans use alcohol and other drugs at high rates. According to NIDA, between 2000 and 2003 about 10 young people (age 13-24) were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS each day.

* Today an estimated 1 million people in the United States are living with HIV/AIDS, and, approximately 4 out of 10 U.S. AIDS deaths are related to drug abuse.

* My advisory committees on AIDS/HIV and Drugs and Substance Abuse confirm the toll that this dual epidemic has taken. Drug abuse and HIV/AIDS affect our children, our families, and our communities not only in the 7th District of Illinois but also across this nation.

* I commend NIDA's efforts in advancing research and public awareness to better understand the pivotal role drug abuse (in all its forms) can play in the spread of HIV/AIDS.

* We need to continue to educate our constituents about the risks of drug abuse and HIV infection. We need to provide adequate and accessible treatment for those with drug problems and HIV/AIDS. We need to support what NIDA has established that drug abuse treatment is HIV prevention. Because by limiting and protecting against the risky behaviors associated with drug abuse, we can decrease the likelihood of spreading or contracting HIV/AIDS.

http://thomas.loc.gov

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