California drug officials on Thursday unveiled a new $11 million campaign to discourage gay men from using crystal methamphetamine, the illegal stimulant linked to risky sexual behavior. Campaign messages, information, and referrals will be displayed on billboards and bus wraps and broadcast on cable. A Web site featuring video testimonials allows people to upload their own stories and refers crystal users to places where they can get help.
A statewide survey released during the launch found crystal use among gay men is 11 times that of the overall population. Among 549 gay and bisexual men surveyed, 55 percent had used crystal, compared with 5 percent of the general population.
The campaign, especially the Web site, will appeal to young people, said Mike Rizzo, manager of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center (LAGLC). The Web videos portray meth use in a way that "is real and relatable and not easily dismissed as being overly alarmist," he added.
The campaign "is about loss, really - of family, friends, their looks, jobs, who they are," said Renee Zito, director of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. "It essentially gets down to 'I lost myself.'"
In 2006, LAGLC and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation supported legislative efforts to fund the campaign. In 2004, one in three MSM testing positive for HIV in LAGLC's screening program used crystal meth, a threefold increase over 2001. In the state-funded survey, gay men were the only group to mention sexual arousal as a benefit from using the drug.
"Not only can it increase the likelihood of having unprotected sex, but people are also having more sex with more partners and having sex for a longer period of time, increasing the likelihood of infection," said Dr. Michelle Roland, chief of the AIDS office at the state Department of Public Health.
For more information, visit www.menotmeth.org.
03/14/08
CALIFORNIA: Anti-Meth Campaign Aimed at Gay Men
Source: Los Angeles Times:: Mary Engel; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention