Scientific knowledge is the best tool we have to address the disease of addiction and its consequences, including HIV. Research has taught us that drug abuse is preventable and that addiction is treatable. Promising prevention and treatment strategies continue to emerge to address this devastating disease, yet much remains to be done.

The greater proportion of HIV infections associated with heterosexual contact requires additional research to better unravel the dynamics behind how drug abuse may be contributing to cases of new HIV infections. We know that substance abuse may affect judgment and decisionmaking and lead to high-risk sexual encounters and that sexually active drug abusers increase the likelihood of HIV transmission. However, we have not yet identified all of the behavioral, biological, and environmental processes involved in the sexual transmission of HIV among drug abusers. We now need to establish how an individual’s peers, relationships, social networks, and environment influence both drug abuse and sexual risk taking. Linkages to drug diffusion, drug abuse practices, and HIV risk behaviors are of particular interest.