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May 18, 2005
The meth and the internet in the AIDS tipping point
In an article at The New Yorker, HIGHER RISK. Michael Specter discusses how crystal meth has interacted with the internet to form a disastrous reemergence of the epidemic. Having just finished The Tipping Point, I'm seeing the problem as a classic example of Gladwell's paradigm. First, HIV starts off as a very sticky disease, it incubates for a long time, can take years to form visible symptoms, can't be inoculated and can't be cured. Second, the use of the internet dramatically increases the connectedness of the sexually active, providing more partners, in a wider array, faster than cruising or other older methods of seduction in the homosexual community. Finally, crystal meth (along with Viagra) provides the power of context. Men take meth and often find their libidos inflamed and all their lessons of safe sex forgotten. Combined with Viagra, this leads to an explosion of sex parties, creating a fluid swapping environment much like that of the bathhouse environment that incubated the HIV virus in the first wave of the epidemic. The disease not only lower inhibitions, but it seems to harm the immune system, raising likelihood of infection from contact.
If we want to stop this epidemic, we just need to adopt the techniques of the of decreasing stickiness, and removing context. If you think that this problem warrants state intervention, require police officers to be posted at sex clubs, discouraging lewd acts. Advertise for safe sex on hookup website. Add a medicine to Viagra to make it cause something unpleasant when it interacts with meth. Educate opinion leaders in the drug using community on the importance of safe sex. We could post reminders prominently in bars and clubs with a big gay presence. And for a radical idea, we could legalize meth, standardize the dosage, and find out the best and safest methods of delivery. Hell, include free lubricated condoms in the box. A tragedy, yet so understandable and preventable.
Posted by OneEyedMan at May 18, 2005 3:01 PM
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