(last update 1995)
Data Base:
AIDS Hilfe Wien (AHW), Osterreichisches AIDS Informations- und Dokumentationszentrum,
Wien (OAIDZ).
Official estimate of 10,000 users of hard drugs. 4,000 of those are intravenous drug users (OAIDZ). The AIDS Service in Vienna in comparison estimates the number of intravenous drug users at 25,000. The number of persons with HIV is thought to be between 12,000 and 14,000, official surveys say only 4,500.44,5% of those are drug users.' The estimated number of IDUs (intravenous drug users) with AIDS differs between 224 (OAIDZ) and 300 (AHW). HIV infection among drug users varies in different regions between 12-30% in Vienna, and 50% in the western parts of Austria.' 28% of all AIDS cases occur among drug users. There were 86 drug-related deaths in 1988.'
The "Narcotics Law" (Suchtgiftgesetz) from 1951 (modified in 1971, 1977, 1980, 1985) originally allowed the consumption of narcotics. There was no differentiation between the types of drugs. After 1985 a much harsher legislation was introduced. Exemption from punishment is only possible if an obligatory therapy is undergone. The Methadone Act of 1987 represents a deviation from abstinence as the aim of treatment.' The Ministry of Health finances a drug help service and the AIDS service.
The number of cases of HlV-infection and AIDS in Austrian prisons is estimated at about 100 (AHW, (SAIDZ), 90 of those are reported to be drug consumers. AIDS cases are mostly discharged or treated in special hospital units. Substitution treatment for people with HIV or AIDS is possible to a small extent.
For six years now all of the AIDS services and some of the drug help services have distributed free needles and syringes. In rural areas pharmacies are supposed to distribute small numbers of syringe sets, although there is no specific regulation.
Hard drugs are not available on prescription as a means of treatment for addiction. A law from 1987 regulates Methadone substitution. Since then 2,000 drug users, 1,000 of those in Vienna2, have been put on substitute drugs (AHW). Availability varies considerably in the different regions. It is only in Vienna that HIV infection or illness are not prerequisites for participation. In 1991, a programme was initiated in Vienna giving 20 drug users the substitute drug Mundiol (synthetic morphine in tablet form).
Altogether there are six therapeutic institutions in Austria with a capacity for 200 people. Drug therapies are only available in psychiatric hospitals, in Vienna 30 places are available. The average waiting time is about 4-6 months. In 1990, a training programme for social workers concerned with drugs and AIDS was
offered for the first time.
In 1990, the Junkie-Bund in Vienna and AIDS Initiatives were founded. According to the information which they have provided, there is contact between the groups and to other self-help organizations in Europe.