The Dirty Ltle Secret of Gay Men and Meth

Contents:

• WHAT IS IT ABOUT GAY MEN AND CRYSTAL METH?
• THE FOUR REASONS WE LOVE METHLEON FOX·FOLLOW7 M READ·JUN 29, 2021--4SHARETHE GAY MUNY HAS BORN THE TRAGEDY OF TWO GREAT EPIMICS: THE FIRST WAS HIV/AIDS, WHICH ROBBED OF A GENERATN OF LEARS AND MENTORS. THE SEND WAS METH, WHICH WILL NTUE TO ROB OF FUTURE LEARS, MENTORS, AND YOUTH FOR YEARS TO E UNLS WE N E TO UNRSTAND S POWER OVER OUR MUNY.HI, MY NAME IS LEON FOX. OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, I’VE STGGLED WH BOUTS OF METH E THAT REPEATEDLY THREATENED TO VASTATE MY LIFE.NEVER DID I THK MY TWICE-YEARLY RECREATNAL E WOULD SNOWBALL TO A BI-WEEKLY HAB BY YEAR SEVEN AND BEE MY GO-TO RUAL FOR NUMBG PAS AND CELEBRATG PLEASUR. THIS PERD OF MY LIFE CULMATED A HARROWG SIX MONTHS WHERE I WAS EHER G OR G DOWN AND NSTANTLY NSUMED BY SADNS, ANGER, SELF-LOATHG, AND SELF-PY.I NSUMED METH BENRS THAT LASTED 4–5 NSECUTIVE DAYS, DURG WHICH I BARELY ATE, DRANK, OR SLEPT — UNTIL I WOULD EVABLY PASS OUT OM EXHSTN. THE SPAC BETWEEN WERE ALWAYS BTAL: LEAVG ME PHYSILLY AND MOTIVATNALLY STUTE FOR A WEEK OR EVEN LONGER. AT LEAST A HUNDRED TIM, I PROMISED I’D NEVER PICK UP THE PIPE AGA, AND A HUNDRED TIM, I BROKE THAT PROMISE.DPE BEG FULLY AWARE THAT MY LIFE WAS SPNG OUT OF NTROL, MY SIRE TO E REMAED VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED.I DID EVERYTHG I ULD THK OF TO BELAY MY SELF-STCTN. I TRIED HARNSG MY WILLPOWER AGAST . I TALOGED MY HATRED FOR JOURNALS. I SOUGHT THE GUIDANCE OF EXPERTS THE FIELDS OF THERAPY AND HARM RCTN. SADLY, THE EFFORTS PROVED EFFECTIVE TERRG MY E.IT WASN’T UNTIL A CHANCE NVERSATN WH A IEND ABOUT HOW HE SUCCSFULLY STOPPED SMOKG CIGARETT THAT I SAW THE REAL FLUENC UNRPNG MY RELATNSHIP WH METH AND WHAT I ULD DO TO IMPACT .HE SAID THAT ONCE HE UNRSTOOD WHY HE LOVED SMOKG CIGARETT, HE WAS ABLE TO GIVE THEM UP.SO I CID TO ASK MYSELF, “WHY DO I, AND SO MANY MEN WH OUR MUNY, LOVE METH?”REASON ONE — METH CREAT EMPHATIC SEXUAL NNECTNS
• 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
• THE DIRTY LTLE SECRET OF GAY MEN AND METH
• METH HAS VASTATED THE GAY MUNY FOR S. A NEW TREATMENT OFFERS HOPE.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT GAY MEN AND CRYSTAL METH?

Jake is a therapist at the Gay Therapy Center. 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. 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. Meth has long been associated wh gay men.

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.

THE FOUR REASONS WE LOVE METHLEON FOX·FOLLOW7 M READ·JUN 29, 2021--4SHARETHE GAY MUNY HAS BORN THE TRAGEDY OF TWO GREAT EPIMICS: THE FIRST WAS HIV/AIDS, WHICH ROBBED OF A GENERATN OF LEARS AND MENTORS. THE SEND WAS METH, WHICH WILL NTUE TO ROB OF FUTURE LEARS, MENTORS, AND YOUTH FOR YEARS TO E UNLS WE N E TO UNRSTAND S POWER OVER OUR MUNY.HI, MY NAME IS LEON FOX. OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, I’VE STGGLED WH BOUTS OF METH E THAT REPEATEDLY THREATENED TO VASTATE MY LIFE.NEVER DID I THK MY TWICE-YEARLY RECREATNAL E WOULD SNOWBALL TO A BI-WEEKLY HAB BY YEAR SEVEN AND BEE MY GO-TO RUAL FOR NUMBG PAS AND CELEBRATG PLEASUR. THIS PERD OF MY LIFE CULMATED A HARROWG SIX MONTHS WHERE I WAS EHER G OR G DOWN AND NSTANTLY NSUMED BY SADNS, ANGER, SELF-LOATHG, AND SELF-PY.I NSUMED METH BENRS THAT LASTED 4–5 NSECUTIVE DAYS, DURG WHICH I BARELY ATE, DRANK, OR SLEPT — UNTIL I WOULD EVABLY PASS OUT OM EXHSTN. THE SPAC BETWEEN WERE ALWAYS BTAL: LEAVG ME PHYSILLY AND MOTIVATNALLY STUTE FOR A WEEK OR EVEN LONGER. AT LEAST A HUNDRED TIM, I PROMISED I’D NEVER PICK UP THE PIPE AGA, AND A HUNDRED TIM, I BROKE THAT PROMISE.DPE BEG FULLY AWARE THAT MY LIFE WAS SPNG OUT OF NTROL, MY SIRE TO E REMAED VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED.I DID EVERYTHG I ULD THK OF TO BELAY MY SELF-STCTN. I TRIED HARNSG MY WILLPOWER AGAST . I TALOGED MY HATRED FOR JOURNALS. I SOUGHT THE GUIDANCE OF EXPERTS THE FIELDS OF THERAPY AND HARM RCTN. SADLY, THE EFFORTS PROVED EFFECTIVE TERRG MY E.IT WASN’T UNTIL A CHANCE NVERSATN WH A IEND ABOUT HOW HE SUCCSFULLY STOPPED SMOKG CIGARETT THAT I SAW THE REAL FLUENC UNRPNG MY RELATNSHIP WH METH AND WHAT I ULD DO TO IMPACT .HE SAID THAT ONCE HE UNRSTOOD WHY HE LOVED SMOKG CIGARETT, HE WAS ABLE TO GIVE THEM UP.SO I CID TO ASK MYSELF, “WHY DO I, AND SO MANY MEN WH OUR MUNY, LOVE METH?”REASON ONE — METH CREAT EMPHATIC SEXUAL NNECTNS

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.

The Gay muny has born the tragedy of two great epimics: the first was HIV/AIDS, which robbed of a generatn of lears and mentors. ”Reason One — Meth creat emphatic sexual nnectnsFrom an early age, we as Gay men are forced to nceal our attractn towards other men unr threat of….

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. Crystal methamphetame has bee a popular temptatn for gay men, leadg many to addictn.

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

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. 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.

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

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.

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.

THE DIRTY LTLE SECRET OF GAY MEN AND METH

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

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.