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Drug War Facts provides reliable information with applicable citations on important public health and criminal justice issues. It is updated continuously by its Editor, Mary Jane Borden. Most charts, facts and figures are from government sources, government-sponsored sources, peer reviewed journals and occasionally newspapers. In all cases the source is cited so that journalists, scholars and students can verify, check context and obtain additional information. Our mission is to offer useful facts, cited from authoritative sources, to a debate that is often characterized by myths, error, emotion and dissembling. We believe that in time an informed society will correct its errors and generate wiser policies. Drug War Facts is sponsored by Common Sense for Drug Policy. Its directors are Kevin B. Zeese, President; H. Michael Gray, Chair; Robert E. Field, Co-Chair; Melvin R. Allen, JD; David Borden; Balázs Denés, JD; Ernest Drucker, Ph.D.; Kris Krane; and Doug McVay. To the extent of its copyrights, Common Sense for Drug Policy authorizes and encourages the use and republication of some or all portions of this book. Questions, comments or suggestions for additions and modifications are most welcome and may be addressed to Mary Jane Borden at mjborden@drugwarfacts.org.
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Did You Know?
| "Being in prison or other state detention is an important risk factor for HIV in Russia. A very high percentage of drug users in the FSU find themselves in state custody at some time in their lives. Injection drug use is reportedly widespread in Russian prisons, and HIV prevention services such as provision of sterile syringes, disinfectant materials for syringes and condoms are virtually absent. Official statistics indicate that from 1996 to 2003, HIV prevalence in Russian prisons rose more than thirty-fold from less than one per 1,000 inmates to 42.1 per 1,000 inmates. According to a 2002 report, about 34,000 HIV-positive personsover 15 percent of the persons officially counted as HIV-positive in the countrywere in state custody, of which the large majority found out about their HIV status in prison. The Kresty pretrial detention facility in Saint Petersburg was reported in 2002 to have about 1,000 HIV-positive persons among its 7,800 inmates. Some 300,000 prisoners are released each year from penal institutions in Russia, representing an important public health challenge." Source:
Human Rights Watch, "Lessons Not Learned: Human Rights Abuses and HIV/AIDS in the Russian Federation," April 2004, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp. 11-12.
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/russia0404.pdf
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