Critics say the programs encourage drug use.
Soros said in a statement Sunday. The federal Centers for Disease Control estimated last year that intravenous drug users, their children and sex partners accounted for over one-third of the new cases of HIV infection. Soros told The New York Times in an interview published Sunday that he does not support legalizing drugs. But he said they were practically impossible to outlaw, so he proposed trying to reduce the harm that drug users cause themselves. Soros, whose philanthropy has supported democratic movements in Eastern Europe and Asia, also funded ballot initiatives last year that let California and Arizona voters approve the medicinal use of marijuana.