There will be few if any programs that will not be affected in some way by the AIDS epidemic, and all alcohol/drug programs need to maintain an up-to-date awareness of issues which may affect their patients or program. All patients entering programs should be screened, by sensitive thorough history taking, for risk of exposure to the HIV virus. All programs should have educational components designed to help their patients and significant others minimize risk of future exposure to the HIV virus. The chemical dependency field, in particular the major organizations in it, need to develop committees to deal with fiscal and public policy issues relevant to AIDS. The AIDS problem has the potential to resurrect some of the old conflicts in the chemical dependency field (i.e., alcohol v. drugs) and to pit certain groups against others (i.e., homosexual v. straight). 2 tables, 18 notes.