Drug use and harm reduction policies in Burma... "The struggle to combat the twin threats of HIV/AIDS and drug use in Burma is an uphill battle. With an estimated 500,000 drug users, half of whom are categorized as injecting drug users, or IDUs, Burma has a serious drug problem. To compound matters, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been spiraling simultaneously, and infection rates among drug users in Burma, especially in Shan and Kachin states, now rank among the highest in the world. Burma, Thailand and Cambodia have been hit hardest by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Asia. Burma, however, is the only one of the three where the infection rate is still rising. This is mainly due to the high-risk behavior of IDUs, who commonly share needles and syringes and rarely sterilize them. Such high-risk behavior is especially widespread in the teashops, known locally as shooting galleries, where heroin is sold. Two of the major obstacles to combating the rise of HIV/AIDS and drug use are a general lack of resources and, maybe less predictably, the legal constraints of narcotics laws..."