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Boston Medical Center (BMC)
researchers report that marijuana use increases the risk of unsafe sex and drug
use among HIV-infected Russians who are also “risky drinkers.” HIV transmission
through unprotected sex is increasing in Russia, although injection drug use
(IDU) has previously been the biggest source of the Russian HIV epidemic,
according to one of the study’s authors, Jeffrey Samet, MD, chief of general internal
medicine at BMC.
The BMC study defined males who have
more than four drinks a day or 14 drinks a week as risky drinkers; the study
considered women who consume more than three drinks a day or seven in a week as
risky drinkers. The study examined data collected from 700 HIV-infected St.
Petersburg residents who fit into the category of risky drinkers, and then
compared needle-sharing, IDU, condom use, and number of sex partners among
marijuana users and non-marijuana users.
Data revealed that 20 percent of the
entire cohort had used marijuana in the past month and almost half the cohort
(46 percent) had used marijuana in the previous year. Forty-two percent of the
cohort reported IDU within the last month, and 23 percent said they had shared
needles within the last 30 days. More than a quarter of the cohort (27 percent)
had multiple sex partners within the last three months.
Study participants who used
marijuana in the last 30 days were more likely to share needles, have more sex
partners, and inject drugs more often than those who did not use marijuana.
Samet stated that study results may help identify individuals at high risk for
transmitting HIV to others.
The full report, “Is Cannabis Use
Associated with HIV Drug and Sex Risk Behaviors Among Russian HIV-infected
Risky Drinkers?” was published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence
(2013; doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.01.009).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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