HIV

Free the Docs Petition

Typically when you think of people trying to overthrow a government, an image of Guy Fawkes or anarchists is conjured. You rarely think of a well groomed doctor who acts proper and conscientious, dealing mostly with trying to reduce AIDS in Iran. Dr. Arash Alaei, 42, has been incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin prison since June 2008. Iranian law permits first offenders to be released after half their sentence, yet Alaei continues to remain imprisoned. Arash’s younger brother, Dr. Kamiar Alaei is campaigning for the release of Arash.

Out of hell

I never thought that someone could enjoy drugs as much as I do without actually taking any. This idea can look a little bit contradictory at first, but if I tell you that my job involves a little bit of drug policy and lots of field-work with people in rehabilitation you will soon grasp that I know what I am talking about.

The kids are (not) all right

A group of researchers from the Center for Global Health and Development, University of Boston, have produced an interesting report about another forgotten collective of the sex industry and drugs world. The researched are the most innocent people yet to be examined because they did not choose to face the problems of their realities but much on the contrary they were forced into them simply because their parents were either injecting drug users, sex workers or a combination of both

Interview with Angie Bowie

Angie Bowie was a 70’s style icon, a model and musician. She is acknowledged by many as a huge influence on her ex-husband David Bowie’s work through the most creatively successful period of his career, including his Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and Thin White Duke periods. Lou Reed acknowledges her for creating his ‘Transformer’ look.

She has had published both an autobiographical work ‘Backstage Pass’ and a pocket guide to bisexuality. She has released an album ‘Moon Goddess’.

14 Different Approaches

A report published by the CSIS (Centre for Strategic & International Studies) based in Washington has echoed the alarming increase of HIV infections among injecting drug users in 14 different countries (China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Kenya, Cambodia, Tanzania, South Africa) .

Russian Government shows reckless disregard for health and human rights

VIENNA, MARCH 21, 2011 — A report from prominent civil society organizations will be presented at the 54th Commission on Narcotic Drugs session on March 24th, 2011. The report highlights blatant disregard by the Government of Russia for health, human rights and scientific evidence related to the use of harm reduction measures for those who use illicit drugs. This is particularly troubling given the well-documented and concentrated HIV epidemic among people who use drugs in Russia

The HIV and Tuberculosis Epidemic in Ukraine

In relation to Europe, Ukraine is facing the worst of the HIV epidemic. Ukraine, which is highly likely to be facing diplomatic pressure from the Russian government, is experiencing severe issues with HIV, similar to Russia. The percentage of Ukrainian adults infected with HIV increased from 0.96% in 2007 to 1.3% in 2010, causing them to have one of the highest rates of increase in Eastern Europe. Russia, on the other hand, accounts for some 70% of all registered HIV infections in the regions of Europe and Central Asia alone.

Harm reduction in Greece

Every user seeks desperately the narcotic substance. That is why drugs are related to crime in multiple ways. Drugs have effects on the user’s behaviour, by generating violence and other illegal activity in connection with drug trafficking. There are many types of offences related to drug use, one of them is robbery.

Forced Sterilisation for HIV Infected Chilean Women

Chilean women, living with HIV, are being sterilised against their will, new reports claim. The country’s government is yet to comment on the matter despite a growing number of individual cases emerging, which have raised concerns amongst human rights and civil society charities.

The relationship between HIV and alcohol in India

Alcohol use has become more widespread in India, whilst HIV infection also continues to grow rapidly. Indian researchers have examined the relationship between alcohol and HIV in India. Research has found that alcohol is a contributing factor to HIV. This can be seen among Nepalese migrants, where high levels of alcohol were found to contribute to HIV infection.

All of the content on TalkingDrugs is produced by volunteers, if you would like to get involved email: volunteers@talkingdrugs.org