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

closed galleries were not as accessible to intervention efforts because the
operators were more fearful of being arrested. Their structure was less
authoritarian, house rules were not rigidly enforced, and needle hygiene
was regarded as an injector’s own business (Oulette et al. 1991).
Another example of how the legal system can affect high-risk behavior
concerns the role paraphernalia laws play in restricting IDUs’ access to
new syringes, a condition injectors frequently overcome by transferring
used syringes. Laws regulating the purchase or possession of drug
paraphernalia, including syringes, are currently in effect in 44 states and
numerous municipalities (Des Jarlais et al. 1992; Fernando 1991; Koester
1989, 1994; Pascal 1988).
In Denver, needle access is restricted by both a State law and a municipal
ordinance. Possession of a syringe with intent to inject an illicit
substance is a misdemeanor, and is usually punishable by a fine of
between $50 and $100. For an injector this is a serious matter.
Committing this offense identifies the offender as a drug user to the
police. It results in a court appearance and fine, and it occasionally leads
to incarceration. Jail time results because drug users often fail to appear
for their court date. In addition, a paraphernalia violation goes on the
injector’s record, making it more difficult to plead not guilty to future
drug-related charges. As IDUs explained it, having violations for
paraphernalia on their record would make it difficult to convince a judge
of their innocence regarding more serious drug-related offenses. As
Feldman and Biemacki (1988) contend:
The illegality of possessing hypodermic syringes...accounts for the
scarcity or unpredictable supply of hypodermic syringes, the chronic
fear of arrest, and the necessity of constructing social arrangements
that involve needle sharing (p. 35).
Denver injectors appear to agree with this assessment, For many, arrest
and incarceration are more immediate fears than HIV. Being jailed for
even a few days is not only unpleasant for an addicted IDU but often
physically and psychologically painful as well. As one injector
explained:
That is how they busted me that one time for drugs-because they
busted me with a fit (syringe). They took me down there and strip
searched me and found heroin and coke on me. They have done it
other times... they did it one time and took me downtown and strip
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