Dessy Sagita

Drug users injecting themselves in Jakarta. (Photo: EPA)

Intravenous Drug Users and HIV/AIDS Locked in a Widening Dance of Death

The increasing number of intravenous drug users in Indonesia shooting up everything from opiates to methamphetamine is threatening an explosion of HIV/AIDS cases, the National AIDS Commission warns.

“There are more than 250,000 injecting drugs users in this country and 90 percent of them are infected with HIV/AIDS,” Inang Winarso, the assistant deputy secretary of commission, also known as the KPA, said during a media briefing on Tuesday.

It has been estimated that drug use accounts for 50 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia, which, according to some measures, has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection in Southeast Asia.

Though the KPA says that there are just 17,000 reported cases of the disease in total, it admits that this figure is the tip of the iceberg, with the underreporting blamed on the lack of testing facilities and low awareness.

Inang said that drug misuse in the country had reached alarming levels with people abusing even legal drugs, such as the pill Buprenorphine, a semi-synthetic opiate used to treat drug addictions, including for heroin and the local low-grade version known as putaw .

He said that while Buprenorphine was legal, it had the potential to transmit HIV. He said Buprenorphine, manufactured in tablet form for oral consumption, was often ground into powder, mixed with liquid and then injected into one’s body. Even though the tablet contains additives designed to prevent it from being converted for intravenous use, that has not deterred drug users.

Inang said not using Buprenorphine as prescribed could lead to infections and put the user in danger of developing blood clots that could lead to death.

A better promotion strategy was needed to curb the growing number of drug users, especially among the young, Inang said, adding that current drug awareness campaigns were just designed to scare people without informing them. “If you tell kids that drugs are the devil’s friend, you’ll probably only make them even more curious,” he said.

The government should put together a campaign that provides adequate information about various drugs including composition, the benefits and the side effects of the drugs as well as the problems of long-term use.

“The more people know about these drugs, the better-equipped they will be to handle the temptation,” Inang said.

Anhar Nasution, a lawmaker from Reform Star Party (PBR) who is also active in drugs awareness campaigns, said that efforts to stop drug abuse should involve providing the right role models for the young generation.

Anhar said the government should create a campaign around respected figures who are easily recognized by the public.

“Why not involve a well-known psychologist or religious leader to promote the campaign?” he said.

Anhar said the government needed to focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. He suggested the government issue a regulation making it compulsory for people found guilty of drug abuse to enter rehabilitation centers rather than jail, which often only made the situation worse.

“We need more rehab centers and this should be a responsibility of the government,” he said.

Anhar also said that National Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency should apply stricter control on drugs, including the legal ones.

Data from the National Narcotics Agency shows that drug cases have jumped from 11,400 in 2006 to 19,453 in 2008. There are currently 72 people on death row for drug-related offenses.

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