Legal harm reduction among intravenous drug users.

Objective: HIV/AIDS infection in injecting drug users occurs with explosive rapidity and, having occurred, they can form a core group for further sexual and vertical transmission. As HIV transmission among injecting drug users can be extremely rapid, various approaches to intervention and obstructing the spread of HIV infection have been explored. Overall, these have been relatively ineffective so what has emerged, both in the developed and developing world, is harm reduction.