HIV

I think this is a rather inventive way to remind people of the perils of driving under the influence even though it probably begins to lose its effectiveness if it is "viewed" too many times in one sitting. It has been my experience that once someone has started drinking it's a little too late for logic and reason.

It's reminiscent of many things addiction related, the good things tend to occur too late to do much good. The alcoholic finally gets sober only to lose his license, job, and family. The addict gets clean and then faces a much reduced lifetime battling hepatitis or HIV. Catastrophe or incarceration are often the catalysts for sobriety and conversely triggers for relapse.

It's never too early to curb your drinking, speak to a loved one, or even just to pull up stakes and move to a safer environment. Do it now while you still have a choice...
before it’s too late.

(H/T AdGoodness)

Hat tip to The Junky’s Wife who found a story by THISMAGAZINE entitled “HIV, Thanks officer.” that summarizes a just-released report from the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. Here’s an excerpt:

“(1)To avoid HIV, hepatitis, abscesses and other health problems, ideally an injection drug user should use a new, clean needle each time. (2)But when people are afraid of being thrown in jail, they avoid carrying needles on their person, re-use them often, and hide them in dirty places—bushes, garbage cans—to avoid detection. (3)They inject as quickly as possible to reduce the risk of getting caught in the act, often injuring themselves in the process. (4)They can be forced to store their drugs in any available bodily orifice on approach of the cops, which is harmful and dangerous. (5)In some cases, they may switch from smoking to injecting a drug like heroin, even though this is riskier, because it can done faster and requires less of the drug itself.” (Numbering inserted by me)

Now I’m probably the liberalest recovery fundamentalist (snark) that I know, in fact I might be the only one. I support alternative sentencing, methadone maintenance treatment, and even needle exchange programs- as long as they have a parallel recovery program that is promoted and made available. But this report by Joanne Csete (you can download the report here) just seems a little bit too one-sided for the shredded wheat side of my addiction sense.

Read more below to see my objections…