Sex, Meth and HIV, View Transcript

Summary: Even with amazing daily medicines like PrEP that prevent HIV, the number of new infections isn't dropping like it should. Why? Researchers have found a major hidden factor: methamphetamine use. Among gay and bisexual men, regular meth use is linked to about one in three new HIV cases.

Many men use meth during sex—a practice often called "chemsex" or "partying and playing." They use it to feel more connected, boost pleasure, or hide from feelings of shame and social loneliness. However, while high, people lose their inhibitions. They are less likely to use condoms and more likely to have multiple partners. Plus, meth actually changes the body in ways that make it easier to catch HIV.

Doctors and advocates realize that just telling people to stop using drugs doesn't work. To truly end the HIV epidemic, the medical world has to treat the whole person. This means offering care, compassion, and support that fits a person's actual life, without judging them or demanding they be completely drug-free before getting help.

For more details, see NIDA at nida.nih.gov/videos/sex-meth-hiv (opens in new tab)