HIV and Drug Abuse

What are HIV and AIDS?

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). AIDS is a disease of the immune system that has no cure. It has treatment options that can make having AIDS easier to live with but at the present time, there is no known cure. HIV is a blood-borne virus which means it is spread by blood or bodily fluids of someone who is infected comes in contact with the blood, mucous membranes, or broken skin of an uninfected person. Sharing needles or other tools used for drug use or engaging in risky sexual behaviors are the two main ways HIV is spread. Mothers with HIV can pass it to their babies during pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding.

HIV destroys certain cells (CD4+) in the immune system. Without these cells, the body cant fight of germs and diseases. Because of their weakened immune system, people with AIDS often develop infections of the lungs, brain, eyes, and other organs, and many suffer dangerous weight loss, diarrhea, and a type of cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma.

How Are Drug Abuse and HIV Related?

Drug abuse and addiction have been closely linked with HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. Although injection drug use is well known in this regard, the role that non-injection drug abuse plays more generally in the spread of HIV is less recognized.

Injection drug use. People typically associate drug abuse and HIV/AIDS with injection drug use and needle sharing. When injection drug users share “equipment” (needles, syringes), HIV can be transmitted between users. Other infections, such as hepatitis C, can also be spread this way. Hepatitis C can cause liver disease and permanent liver damage.

Poor judgment and risky behavior. Drug abuse by any method can put a person at risk for contracting HIV. Drug and alcohol intoxication affect the way a person makes decisions and can lead to unsafe sexual practices, which puts them at risk for getting HIV or transmitting it to someone else.

Biological effects of drugs. Drug abuse and addiction can worsen the progression of HIV and its consequences, especially in the brain. Research has shown that HIV causes more harm to nerve cells in the brain and greater cognitive damage among people who abuse methamphetamine than among people with HIV who do not abuse drugs. In animal studies, methamphetamine has been shown to increase the amount of HIV in brain cells.

How Many People Have HIV/AIDS?

Today’s estimates indicate that more than 1 million people in the United States are living with HIV or AIDS. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that close to one-quarter of the people in the United States who are infected with HIV do not know they are infected.

You cannot tell by looking at them if someone is infected with HIV. A person can be infected with HIV for many years, and the virus may or may not progress to the disease of AIDS. A medical test is the only way to know if a person has HIV or has developed AIDS.

How Are Teens Affected?

Young people are at risk for contracting HIV and developing AIDS. According to CDC, more than 50,000 young people age 13 to 24 in the United States had been diagnosed with AIDS by the end of 2009.

How Can Teens Protect Themselves?

The best way to protect yourself is to stay healthy and think clearly. Choose not to use drugs. Know that drug use can change the way the brain functions, thereby affecting the way people make decisions and weigh risks. Another way to insure your safety and the safety of your partner is to always wear protection when you have sex.

What Do You Do and When?

One problem parents face once they think their child is abusing drugs is they dontknow how to approach their child. With the article I chose it helps the parents of addicted children once they see some signs.

A Guide to Action for Parents talks about the science of why children using drugs is harmful.to their still developing bodies. In one study done if a child that starts to drink before the age of fifteen they had a forty percent chance of alcoholism intheir adult future. one very strikingthing i read about the way adults may think today is even though their child may have tested with drugs such as marajuana some parents will say it's just experimentation because they once did it their selves. But in fact marajuana of today is much stronger than in the past and much more easy to get addicted to especially with the strong acceptance among teens of the drug.

There was also a very helpful sign and symptoms list on What parents should look for listed which were:
1.Negative changes in schoolwork or missing school and declining grades.
2.Increased secrecy about about possesions or activities.
3.Use of incense, room deodorant or perfume to hide smoke or chemical odors.
4.Subtle changes in conversations with friends (code words)
5.New friends
6.Clothing changes
7.Increase of borrowing money
8.Evidence of pipes or rolling papers.
9.Bottles of eye drops
10.New use of breath mints or mouthwash to cover up smell of alcohol.
11.Missing prescription drugs-especially narcotics and mood stabilizers

These are just a few of many more signs parents should look for in their children and when they do notice these signs parents should then know what to do and when. First things first for parents is to get as educated as possible on drug abuse and alcohol abuse. The next best thing you can do to help the child sit down and talk to them when all parties are calm and collected. The most important way to make sure you don't push your child away is to let them know you aren't angry but are there to help. Being the parent though you must make sure that the child knows there are rules in the house and they will be enforced if necessary. Always remember though that this is not a one time conversation but may need to have multiple attemps but make sure not to give up on your child.

Myrtle Beach Zoning Plans

WMBF News discusses the issue of zoning of nightclubs in local neighborhoods. In the article two nightclubs, Club Congo and Groove Ultra Lounge, to be "crime magnets" due to the loud music and drug deals. Both the loud music and drug deals have been known to be going on for years. Some, local neighbors, refer to Club Congo as the danger zone.

The reason that they refer to these two night clubs as the crime magnet is many incidents reports in the past few years. Within the past six years Club Congo has had 600 reported incidents, which include  15 drug and alcohol-related crimes. However, at Groove Ultra Lounge has had 200 incidents, 6 of which were drug and alcohol-related crimes.

One reason that it is important to rezone Club Congo is because it is located next to daycare. Also, these clubs are located near peoples homes, a place where a person should feel safe. However it is hard to feel safe when there are shootings happening often.

Both clubs are current vacant, however there is rumors that a new nightclub plans may come take their places. Everyone around the area means that the violence will come back as well. Currently there is a ordinance that is pending making it  illegal for a nightclub to be located in this local neighborhood.

The one good thing that the local authorities have done correctly is make a record of all calls and reports that have received. By doing this it adds backing to getting a ordinance for the neighborhood.

It is important to understand the correlation between drug and alcohol in relation to crime. That is not to say drugs and alcohol cause violence, however there is a positive relationship.

This article also make one wondering if zoning is the right thing to do or if it is even fair. However, as any social movement, the strength of getting the zoning ordinance passed is based on political power, its appeal to cultural values, and the strength of the opposition.

Drug Facts: Steroids

Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids

Anabolic refers to a steroid’s ability to help build muscle. Androgenic refers to their role in promoting the development of male sexual characteristics. Other types of steroids, like cortisol, estrogen, and progesterone do not build muscle, are not anabolic, and do not have the same harmful effects.

What Are They?

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are usually synthetic substances similar to testosterone. Doctors prescribe them to help people with certain kinds of anemia and men who don't produce enough testosterone on their own. Without a prescription from a doctor, anabolic steroids are illegal.

Common Street Names

Most just use the term steroids to refer to these but they could also be called roids or juice.

How Are They Used?

Some people who abuse steroids pop pills. Others use hypodermic needles to inject steroids directly into muscles.

What Are The Effects

A major health consequence from abusing anabolic steroids can include prematurely stunted growth through early skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty changes. This means that teens risk remaining short for the remainder of their lives if they take anabolic steroids before they stop growing. Other effects include jaundice (yellowish coloring of skin, tissues, and body fluids), fluid retention, high blood pressure, increases in LDL (bad cholesterol), decreases in HDL (good cholesterol), severe acne, trembling, and in very rare cases liver and kidney tumors. In addition, there are some gender-specific side effects:

• For guys—shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts, and increased risk for prostate cancer

• For girls—growth of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, changes in or cessation of the menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris, and a permanently deepened voice

Steroid abuse can also have an effect on behavior or mood, such as feelings of depression or irritability. Research shows that users may suffer from jealousy, paranoia, extreme irritability, delusions, and impaired judgment stemming from feelings of invincibility.

Can Steroid Abuse Be Fatal?

Yes. Steroids affect the heart just as it does other muscles. In some cases, steroid abuse can make the heart susceptible to heart attacks and strokes, which can be fatal. Steroids can also weaken the immune system and any form of drug that is injected runs the risk of spreading life-threatening viral infections such as HIV/AIDS or hepatitis.

Protect Privacy or Save the Child?

The article/news story I chose to talk about for my seventh blog was written by Geraldine Sealey of ABC News. This particular piece is titled, “Drug Testing Pregnant Women Nixed”. A particular example they use to describe the social problem in more detail is, when women were being arrested in hospital beds at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC in Charleston, SC). The argument is that the process of drug testing pregnant women and then arresting her for it coming back positive is an unreasonable search.

As stated in the article,

“In a 6-3 ruling, the court said drug testing by a public hospital in Charleston, S.C., violated the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution — which bars unreasonable search and seizure — even though the hospital was trying to prevent women from harming their fetuses by using crack cocaine.”

According to the article/news story, is stated in the constitution that, “Under the Constitution, if women don't agree to the tests, a warrant is necessary, the court ruled. The justices asked a lower court to determine whether the patients actually consented to the tests.” To me, this is honestly what I believe should take place, with some different situations available. Obviously, this is my own personal opinion, but I do hope that many people would agree.

As stated by congressman Justice John Paul Steven, while writing for the court, “While the ultimate goal of the program may well have been to get the women in question into substance abuse treatment and off of drugs, the immediate objective of the searches was to generate evidence for law enforcement purposes in order to reach that goal." Along with this it was addressed within the article/news story that the hospitals have the obligation while collecting this evidence to make sure that women were made aware of their constitutional rights. The opinions of Justice Stevens’ were “backed up” by author officials such as; Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on the othe hand says that these drug tests were unconstitutional.

The issue of the women in South Carolina, like I said before, took place at MUSC (The Medical University of South Carolina located in Charleston, SC). The issue was about the policy they had where woman had been arrested (while in their hospital bed) for testing positive to drugs. They were given the choice to receive treatment or be arrested. This all is said to have been under the “states’ child –endangerment law”. The testing at MUSC in particular began taking place in the fall of 1989. In the year of 1993, 10 of the women who tested positive for cocaine filed suit within the U.S. District Court in attempt to claim that their rights to the Fourth Amendment had been violated. In the fall of 1989, MUSC began testing the urine of pregnant women suspected of cocaine use and, in some cases, reporting the results to law enforcement officials. Later, the policy was amended so those patients who tested positive were given a choice between being arrested and receiving drug treatment.

According to the article/news story, The Supreme Court in the past had allowed drug tests without a warrant or “individual suspicion” as long as the government could state and demonstrate a valid “special need”. This meaning that it had to be proven by the state that the policy was not established to help with law enforcement and that the people being searched have “a lower expectation of privacy”. According to today’s ruling though, even if drug testing of the woman is protect the unborn, if it is without the woman’s consent it can no longer be considered a “special need.” With this particular statement, it helps me realize even more how big of a social problem this is shaping out to be.

During the same day this article/news story was published, it was stated that there was a conference call that took place with one of the women who filed a claim against MUSC. She made the argument that she wasn’t aware of any other U.S. jurisdiction in where there are doctors who are, as stated by the article/news story; “working with police to obtain drug-abuse evidence on pregnant women.” The argument from city officials is that it was by no means meant to discriminate and/or violate in constitutional rights.

As I have stated before, I agree with the fact that drug-tests for pregnant women should be allowed, and that if the results come back positive they should have the options of: adoption, drug treatment, or jail. Even though the positive drug test results may help police case, like Scalia stated, I do believe it should always be primarily done for the well being of the mother and child. This is a social problem that has affected our world as a whole, even though this particular example took place in a hospital in South Carolina, it is clearly world-wide.

Pregnant and Addicted

I looked at multiple articles on this toppic and the two I chose to blog about are Pregnancy and Addiction and The Endowment for Human Development. These articles are very sad to read and even think about especially since the amount of mothers who are pregnant that are addicted to different substances have doubled in the last five years.

To think about these newborns who basically already have the first few years of life planned out in hospitals, due to the fact that they will have withdrawls or death when they are born into this world are unfortunate events that could be prevented. Mothers don't realize that their addictions pass on to their little ones in their wombs and some don't even care. Some women are so addicted to drugs that having a child is not even relevant to their life. I was reading in an article the other day of a judge who had taken away 14 children from the same woman because she was so addicted to drugs she had no care in the world she was reproducing. Stories like these are so heart breaking but happen every single day.

There are multiple drugs that affect a fetus duing pregnancy,

1.Cocaine- causes the placenta to prematurely detach, growth defects in the unborn baby, and abnormalities in the intestines.

2.Methamphetamine- causes painful withdrawal symptoms; such as, sleeping difficulties, tremors, and feeding difficulties

3.Heroin- can cause unborn baby to be stillborn, prematurely born, low birth weight, bleeding in the brain, low blood sugar, and may die from SIDS(Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

4.Prescription Medications- even if prescribed by a doctor baby can still have growth problems in the womb and may receive less oxygen, or could speed the babies heart rate up or down.

5.Alcohol- can cause lifelong disabilities that will affect the baby’s behavior, learning capabilities, physical makeup, and FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome).

These are just some of the affects babies can be born with while having addicted mothers. This was a very close topic to me because I currently have a good friend of mine who is actually getting help now because she is an addicted mother and only 3 months into the pregnancy. It is very sad to see something like this occur to women but very reoccuring. There has even been some states that women who are firm addicts be given government money to be sterilized, I don't believe that this is a good step forward because it feels as if it is taking away from a person's rights and just because they may be an addict now does not exactly say they will be one forever. So ask yourself would you want yourself or your loved ones to be forcibly sterilized?

Columbia moves to outlaw fake pot and bath salts: UPDATE

The controversial drugs K2 and bath salts are now illegal to sell or possess after a unanimous vote by the Department of Health and Environmental Control.  Earlier this month Richland and Columbia country began making moves to make the two drugs illegal.


K2, sometimes referred to as spice, is a synthetic forms of marijuana.  Bath salts are also chemically produced and mimic the affects of cocaine and were named bath salts in order to get it past law enforcements.


Counties began working to ban the drugs after users were experiencing serious side affects from the substances.  This past month a 17-year-old in Lexington County was hospitalized after becoming unresponsive from smoking K2.  Local emergency rooms also have reported treating patients on bath salts who are so agitated that they have to be restrained for 72 hours.

“Once the dhec board as expected makes its reclassification and designates these substances as schedule one controlled substances then state and local law enforcement agents around south carolina will be able to do the same, they'll be able to make arrests and issue charges related to these substances,” Adam Myrick from the Department of Health and Environmental Control said.

South Carolina is now the 38th state to ban K2 and bath salts.  To read more information about the banning of bath salts and or view a video of the report, click here.