Perversely, co-conspirators in the culture of denial have been many gay men's health and AIDS agencies, whose inertia has allowed meth to reach near-pandemic proportions.

Entrusted with public and private funding to identify the root causes of HIV infection and react accordingly, only recently have many within the HIV began to accept what has been obvious to so many crystal users for years; that meth use can, and often does, lead to unsafe sex and potential HIV infection. Anecdotal evidence has long supported this fact, yet only with the emergence of conclusive scientific studies and statistical data are many of the bureacratic barriers to effective action giving way and the crisis being acknowledged and challenged.

Epidemics of complacency and "inside the box" thinking have erected major obstacles to public awareness and prevention programs, and are still frighteningly and frustratingly evident in countries experiencing a first wave of meth abuse. In London, The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) and GMFA (Gay Men Fighting AIDS) have adopted a head-in-the-sand attitude to meth, citing mainstream coverage of the spread of the drug throughout the UK as "hysteria", despite a plethora of tangible evidence within the city's club and sauna scenes and as crystal continues to spread its tentacles into other major cities like Manchester and Glasgow.

[See London Burning and Sydney Backlash!]

In failing to act now, these AIDS organisations threaten the health and wellbeing of the very communities they purport to serve through their inaction and evasiveness.

In Toronto, Canada, meth has hit hard from Alberta and Vancouver. One resident was so angered by the passive response of his city's health department that, in late 2005, he took to warning gay men of the dangers via LIFE OR METH's poster campaign. "The problem," explained local resident Andrew Hwang, "is that no one has been doing anything to bring attention to this problem. Gay men here know about meth, but many don't understand how destructive it can be. I figure this is a small step but a good beginning to raise some awareness with LIFE OR METH's colourful posters, before a full-scale epidemic hits."

In the US, Washington DC's slow response to tackling the upsurge in HIV transmissions in the city was highly criticised in a report by the DC Appleseed Center for "not systematically collecting and analysing data about the epidemic in a way that would allow it to plan prevention and care effectively." The report highlighted an obvious key failing of such organisations; to reach out to, and share, vital information with cities not yet decimated by crystal meth, enablng them to plan awareness and education strategies before they are hit by the drug.

Thankfully, there are enlightened AIDS and community health groups doing sterling work in the realm of meth and HIV prevention; organisations that don't indulge in, nor get distracted by, institutionalised barriers, petty politics or internal disputes that prevent different departments communicating effectively with each other, or who have lost sight of their objectives and principles by placing self-interest above their stated cause. Instead, they focus on the heart of the matter and deal swiftly with the task in hand above all other considerations; the safeguarding of their respective community's health and wellbeing. Notable among them are UFA in Miami, Stop AIDS in San Francisco  and Boston Public Health Commission, whose director John Auerbach, in 2003, spearheaded a grassroots movement involving a co-ordinated effort to tackle crystal meth abuse from every angle: residential, outreach and prevention.

In the experience of LIFE OR METH, forward-thinking organisations such as these are the exception to the rule. In fact, many large AIDS agencies have viewed LIFE OR METH with a suspicion bordering on contempt for its hard-hitting but honest approach; one that isn't diluted, weakened or sanitised by political correctness or bureaucratic meddling. That LIFE OR METH favours truth and abstinence over the defeatist harm reduction/ risk minimalisation approach - which serves only to enable the problem to sustain and perpetuate - speaks for itself: 70% of meth users accessing this site are inspired or empowered by its message to quit...

[See AID$ INC. UNCOVERED]

Due to the alarming levels of intransigence and unresponsiveness outlined in this section, across North America today more gay men are now hooked on crystal meth than died of AIDS throughout the 1980/90s.

However, since LIFE OR METH's launch in November 2002, in every corner of gay America - from San Francisco to New York via Miami Beach - impassioned campaigners and committed groups and individuals alike have become inspired to take its lead and are  speaking out against meth, petitioning local AIDS and health agencies to take action, and plastering the sidewalks of gay neighbourhoods with messages that don't shirk from depicting the harsh reality and the overwhelming human tragedy of crystal meth abuse, and the horror, social blight and devastation wreaked in its path.

The truth, finally, is out. • 

• Please MAKE A DONATION and help keep LIFE OR METH's message alive!

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    HOW YOU CAN HELP STOP TINA

• If you are offered crystal, the choice whether or not to use is yours and yours alone. Don't allow others to influence your decision, and remember Tina's long-term intention long after the short-term high has worn off: to damage your body, enslave your mind and, ultimately, kill you;

• Do not accept a bump or a line of a powdered substance from someone you do not know or fully trust. It may be offered to you as a less harmful drug like ketamine or cocaine, but you could end up awake, wired and suicidally depressed for days on end;

• Wherever and whenever you hear meth mentioned, have the courage to say it as it really is: that crystal abuse is a debilitating, devastating and deadly disease. Remember: Your silence = Tina's victory = death;

• Make sure everyone you think may be at risk of meth abuse, today or in future, has access to the facts from which to make an informed choice;

• If you notice any of your friends displaying symptoms of meth abuse, again, provide them with information about the drug's long-term effects. If they are in the advanced stages of abuse and beyond help, seek professional advice. Don't attempt to rescue them or you may be rendered physically, mentally and emotionally drained. •

AIDS ORGANISATIONS
threaten the HEALTH and
WELLBEING of those they
purport to SERVE through
their INACTION and
EVASIVE procedures.