Meth Use among Gay Men: What You Should Know - Harris Hoe

Contents:

• METH HAS VASTATED THE GAY MUNY FOR S. A NEW TREATMENT OFFERS HOPE.
• GAY MEN ARE DYG FROM A CRISIS WE’RE NOT TALKG ABOUT
• FORMER SAN FRANCIS METH LORD SPEAKS OUT ABOUT DG ADDICTN THE GAY MUNY
• WHAT IS IT ABOUT GAY MEN AND CRYSTAL METH?
• METH USE AMONG GAY MEN: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
• INIATN TO METHAMPHETAME USE FOR YOUNG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• EXPLORG FLUENC ON METHAMPHETAME E AMONG BLACK GAY, BISEXUAL AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN ATLANTA: A FOC GROUP STUDY
• WHY IS CRYSTAL METH SO MON THE GAY MUNY?

METH HAS VASTATED THE GAY MUNY FOR S. A NEW TREATMENT OFFERS HOPE.

Rearch published JAMA September documented a spike after the first wave of ernment shutdowns the e of meth, e, fentanyl and hero among those diagnosed wh or at risk of substance e and the gay munyMeth has st a heavy cloud over the gay muny particular for s.

GAY MEN ARE DYG FROM A CRISIS WE’RE NOT TALKG ABOUT

The Natnal Survey on Dg Use and Health timated that 2015, past-year meth e prevalence was more than four tim higher among gay men pared to straight men — at 4. Rearch also suggts that for people who are livg wh HIV, like Roger, meth exacerbat the vis's harm to the, who said he first started takg meth at gay "circu" parti, said his e of the dg led him to stop gog to the doctor and qu takg his HIV treatment a ago.

Mangia ns a work of muny health centers Los ANGELES — I me of age as a gay man Greenwich Village durg the late 1980s when the AIDS epimic was ragg. But took far too many aths to get, the gay muny is facg another crisis that we’re not talkg about and that elected officials are once aga ignorg. One explanatn for this uld be that gay men stggle wh acceptance ways straight men don’t have to.

Growg up gay and beg forced to keep that a secret for fear of fay rejectn or neighborhood bullyg n create huge securi and issu wh bt iend was rejected by his fay for beg gay and was beaten the streets of his hometown Mexi. He sought out men on gay apps, and he end up fallg for a handsome young man who was addicted to meth. In realy, ’s g untls are many unrlyg reasons gay men start g meth — and those reasons mt be ’s an unfortunate realy that certa sid practic and beliefs are upheld wh gay male culture that put all of danger of adoptg risky behavrs.

FORMER SAN FRANCIS METH LORD SPEAKS OUT ABOUT DG ADDICTN THE GAY MUNY

Pl, while society is signifintly more acceptg than was even 10 years ago, many gay men still stggle wh discrimatn, vlence and our own ternalized homophobia, which means dgs n be an pe for many.

I’ve watched gay men suffer om meth addictn for over 20 years — and ’s only gettg worse. He relapsed after two years of sobriety and eventually died on the one the gay muny is immune to the impact of crystal meth addictn.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT GAY MEN AND CRYSTAL METH?

If we want to ntue growg as a muny, we mt immediately provi fundg and support for gay men who are the work of muny health centers I lead South Los Angel, an overwhelmg majory of patients we treat our substance abe programs are addicted to crystal meth. Bee meth addictn disproportnately affects gay men, hasn’t risen to the level of prry and terventn of other addictns. Elected officials, gay lears, health re centers and muny centers mt velop fundg and programmg to rpond to this crisis.

Countls gay men suffer om this cripplg addictn — and we nnot lose even more of our fay members. A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 27 of the New York edn wh the headle: Gay Men Are Dyg From Another Crisis.

Wh a year, he had spiraled to meth and 'G' addictn, sabotagg his artistic reer and beg one of the top suppliers of illic dgs to San Francis’s largely gay “party and play” subculture. 'G' is short for GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) or GBL (gamma butyrolactone), which are monly known as 'date rape dgs' but are ed recreatnally parts of the gay muny.

METH USE AMONG GAY MEN: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Acrdg to data llected by the Natnal Survey on Dg Use and Health, om 2015 to 2017, the percentage of gay men surveyed who reported g meth the prev year was twice as high as straight his memoir, “Tweakerworld, ” which is beg released Tuday, Yamas scrib the experience of livg the dg-fueled “party and play” subculture unflchg, gory tail om the unique perspective of both a one-time addict and dg aler. For many gay men, though, meth is first posed to them as a form of sexual enhancement or a way to extend the party, wh some men reportg that they first tried meth whout even knowg what was. ”Sharg his own realy wh gay “party and play” culture, he said, feels like a rponsibily.

As a gay man g of age the early 2000’s, of urse would make sense that a fairly short time-ame I would cross paths wh the darkns known as crystal meth.

While I had been drkg, smokg pot, and dabblg psychelics and other dgs sce high school, I disvered meth when llege through the gay club scene.

INIATN TO METHAMPHETAME USE FOR YOUNG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

Comg om a tumultuo, reprsed, and trmatizg fay life, sudnly beg an acceptg space wh other gay men who enuraged me to be ee, feel good, and not hi my sexual feelgs was like a dream e te.

The lost hibns duced by the dg are such ntradictn to the lifetime of supprsn that most gay men have to adopt, that the appeal is magic. Growg up a largely homophobic society, we n’t help but velop wh feelgs of shame about who we are, and even ternalized homophobia.

I believe that the batn of meth’s extremely physilly addictg quali, along wh the unique feelgs that a gay man grows up wh terms of how he feels about himself, sets up a perfect marriage between gay men and meth e, and explas why the dg is so rampant our muny. I’ve seen gay men lose their mds, kill themselv, go to jail, steal or hurt others, and I’m humbled to acknowledge how close to ath I probably me my age. Studi have shown that, when pared wh the general populatn, gay and bisexual men, lbian, and transgenr dividuals are more likely to:.

EXPLORG FLUENC ON METHAMPHETAME E AMONG BLACK GAY, BISEXUAL AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN ATLANTA: A FOC GROUP STUDY

Alhol and dg e among some gay and bisexual men n be a reactn to homophobia, discrimatn, or vlence they experienced due to their sexual orientatn and n ntribute to other mental health and physil problems. For some gay and bisexual men, alhol and illegal dg e, pecially methamphetam (meth), amyl nrat (poppers), and dgs ed to treat erectile dysfunctn (when a man has a hard time keepg an erectn durg sex), also ntribute to a higher chance of gettg HIV and other STDs.

One pecially troublg phenomenon is the rise of crystal methamphetame (meth) e among gay men. Sexualized Dg Use and the Gay Populatn“Meth e among gay men has returned wh dramatic ferocy, ” observ David, PhD, LCSW, the Psychiatric & Behavral Health Learng Network’s Addictn Profsnal, the official news source of the Natnal Conference on Addictn Disorrs (NCAD). Specifilly, the e of meth New York’s gay muny more than doubled a three-year perd, a pattern which was echoed other major ci, cludg San Francis and Los begs the qutn: why are so many gay men turng to meth?

WHY IS CRYSTAL METH SO MON THE GAY MUNY?

” While this n crease pleasure and crease anxiety, n also lead gay men to engage risky sexual behavrs wh partners wh whom they would not otherwise choose to worse? Treatg Meth Addictn Gay MenAcrdg to Fawcett, treatg meth not only requir knowledge of the specific attribut of the dg that fluence addictn and revery, but also requir knowledge about the populatn, as the right treatment, revery — and a better life — is is easier said than done.

Says Assistant Profsor of Medice Rod Knight, “Unfortunately, there are limed optns available for gay and queer men who want to qu or rce their meth nsumptn. Contu Knight, “We found that most of the effective strategi to tegrate servic rely on var unselg techniqu — cludg those that center around an dividual’s ternal motivatns to change their substance e behavr… gay and queer men who e meth, the motivatns are plex and often rooted experienc of lonels, vlence and other forms of trma rultg om the social ndns of their liv, rather than the dividual choic they make.

”While the growg trend of meth e among gay men is disncertg, studi of treatment nfirm what we already know, namely, that LGBTQ muny members benef om an tegrated and affirmg theraptic approach durg addictn treatment. In media and policy nversatns about this dg, one important populatn is often missed out: Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex wh men (here, referred to as gay and queer men). Unfortunately, there are limed optns available for gay and queer men who want to qu or rce their meth nsumptn.