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The Context of HIV Risk Among Drug Users and Their Sexual Partners

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diagnosed slightly more <strong>of</strong>ten than hustlers. In general, self-reports may<br />

under-estimate the actual rates.<br />

DRUG USE SCENES IN SAN FRANCISCO<br />

<strong>The</strong> Tenderloin is an area in San Francisco where a large number <strong>of</strong> male<br />

prostitutes work <strong>and</strong> live. Unlike other cities in the United States, there<br />

appears to be considerable diversity <strong>of</strong> drug use in San Francisco. For<br />

example, phencyclidine (PCP) <strong>and</strong> methamphetamines, which are only<br />

occasionally available in many cities <strong>and</strong> appear to be used by only small<br />

percentages <strong>of</strong> people in most cities, are readily available in San<br />

Francisco <strong>and</strong> are widely used in selected drug scenes. In the Mission<br />

District, a Hispanic community, PCP is readily available <strong>and</strong> is used quite<br />

extensively by Hispanic youth, but it is seldom used by African<br />

Americans or whites. Methamphetamines are readily available in the<br />

Tenderloin <strong>and</strong> Castro Districts <strong>of</strong> the city, which are areas where many<br />

male sex workers live <strong>and</strong> work, <strong>and</strong> are used regularly by gay-identified<br />

males <strong>and</strong> sex workers who live in those communities. <strong>The</strong>se drugs are<br />

in addition to staple drugs such as marijuana, cocaine hydrochloride, <strong>and</strong><br />

heroin, which are also readily available. Despite the ready availability <strong>of</strong><br />

methamphetamines, there is very little “ice” (a smokeable<br />

methamphetamine) available in the city, so use <strong>of</strong> that drug is low.<br />

Cocaine hydrochloride has been widely available since the mid-1970s<br />

<strong>and</strong> continues to be readily available up to the present day. Rock cocaine,<br />

or crack, was relatively slow arriving in San Francisco; it did not become<br />

widespread until 1988 <strong>and</strong> 1989, unlike in other cities such as Miami,<br />

New York, <strong>and</strong> Los Angeles. It was not readily available during the first<br />

study but was during the second study.<br />

<strong>The</strong> use <strong>of</strong> amyl nitrates (or poppers), widely used in the San Francisco<br />

gay community during the 1970s <strong>and</strong> the early 1980s, declined sharply<br />

during the early days <strong>of</strong> the AIDS epidemic when it was believed that<br />

AIDS was a direct result <strong>of</strong> amyl nitrate use. Amyl nitrates never<br />

reemerged as a widely used drug.<br />

Injection <strong>Drug</strong> Use<br />

<strong>Drug</strong> use was generally high for both samples; virtually everyone<br />

interviewed for both studies reported some illicit drug use. Respondents<br />

in the first study reported very high incidence <strong>of</strong> injection drug use; more<br />

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