Study affirms that cocaine makes users more likely to risk unsafe sex
Now, in a government-funded study for which Johns Hopkins investigators recruited a small number of otherwise healthy regular cocaine users through advertisements and word of mouth, results point to "impatience" as a clear barrier to condom use in those who are sexually aroused because of the drug. The research team knew that people who regularly use cocaine are more likely to have HIV or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and the study authors say their findings, published Jan. 18 in Psychopharmacology , suggest "sexual impatience" as a likely explanation for the increased risk. "Our study affirms and may help explain why people who regularly use cocaine are more willing to partake in risky sex when under the influence of cocaine, and underscores why public health officials and physicians should be ensuring that cocaine users are supplied with condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted disease," says Matthew Johnson, Ph.D.,...