STUDY LINKS CRYSTAL-METH USE TO RECENT JUMP IN AIDS CASES

FORT LAUDERDALE (AP) - Although small, the first study of crystal-
methamphetamine use among gay men in South Florida showed that the drug can
spark high-risk sex and may have contributed to a jump in HIV/AIDS in
recent years.

Researchers interviewed 15 unidentified crystal-meth users, who said the
drug lowers inhibitions and fosters artificial feelings of intimacy. The
men described going to weekend-long parties that included unprotected sex
among multiple partners, sometimes anonymous mates found on the Internet.
The findings echo meth studies done in other parts of the country.

Steven P. Kurtz, a University of Delaware researcher in Coral Gables who
wrote the March study, said he was not trying to quantify the extent of
crystal-meth use but rather aimed to show how it can lead to HIV/AIDS
infections. He cautioned that the study was small and does not reflect the
gay community at large.

Also, other experts noted that much of South Florida's increase in HIV/AIDS
in the past few years stems from new infections among heterosexual
African-Americans, who were not part of the study.

But Kurtz and others said his interviews of meth users ages 33 to 50 in
Miami Beach and Wilton Manors clearly shows that the drug plays a big role
in rising infections among gay men, especially those who feel ostracized
from mainstream society.

"Anecdotally, everyone knows this is going on. This gives us the scientific
proof of the hypersexuality that crystal meth can cause," said Kevin
Garrity, executive director of the South Beach AIDS Project in Miami Beach.

The study, published in the journal AIDS and Behavior, found that crystal
meth - a type of speed that is snorted or injected - arrived here from the
West Coast in around 2000. The drug is supplanting Ecstasy and other
intoxicants as the drug of choice among substance abusers who frequent gay
nightclubs, Kurtz said.

"If you're HIV-negative, at the end of it all, you (think), 'God, I can't
believe I just had sex with 10 men in two days or whatever,'" a mid-30s man
told the researchers. "I wonder if I was safe to do that?"

"It does not matter who you are having sex with, near or whatever, as long
as they are just as high as you and on the same thing. That becomes your
overriding concern," said a 38-year-old recovering user.

Michael Lopez-Mata of Fort Lauderdale said he had snorted crystal meth for
years, quit for a while but then lost almost everything - his job as an art
dealer, his money, his mate - after a friend talked him into injecting the
drug early last year.

Now 33, Lopez, who was not part of the Kurtz study, said he fell deeply
into the meth circuit, going to "party and play" events with men he barely
knew or met in chat rooms. He said they would go to someone's home and
spend the weekend taking speed and having sex.

"I felt lonely, like I lacked a connection with other people," Lopez said.
"There are so many men out there doing crystal that it's easy to become a
part and to feel welcome."

Few men at the parties used condoms, said Lopez, who was diagnosed with HIV
in 1999.

"I no longer cared about having unsafe sex," Lopez said. "I sought out
partners who would engage in unsafe sex. I was already infected, and I
found a whole subculture of guys who were already infected or didn't care
if they would get infected."

Lopez kicked the drug in rehab earlier this year and is counseling other
users, mainly at a new meth anonymous group that was started two weeks ago
by Christopher Lacharite, HIV outreach coordinator at the Compass gay and
lesbian center in Palm Beach County, Fla.

"Crystal has inundated both Broward and Miami-Dade for a couple years now
and it's now migrating up into Palm Beach County," said Lacharite, who is
also a recovering user. "We need to do something."

He and Garrity suggested more money be spent on outreach and treatment.

Meanwhile, national retailer Target Corp. said Monday it will restrict
sales of certain over-the-counter cold, allergy and cough medications,
because the drugs can be used to make crystal meth. Drugs containing
pseudoephedrine, which can be used as a base for speed, will be sold only
through Target's pharmacies, the company said.