HIV and Drug Abuse in India

Prescription drugs like the opiate pethidine have replaced cannabis and heroin as the drugs of choice among young people in India. Most teenagers start with cannabis before moving to opiates and prescription drugs. The reason is the easy availability of prescription drugs.According to UNAIDS 2009 report, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia HIV prevalence can be as high as 70% among people who inject drugs. The rise in infections has prompted public health experts to ask governments to decriminalise drug users and lift bans on drugs such as methadone and buprenorphine which are used for substitution maintenance therapy at de-addiction centres.

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