What Is It About Gay Men and Crystal Meth? | GTC Blog

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Growg up a largely homophobic society, we n’t help but velop wh feelgs of shame about who we are, and even ternalized homophobia.

THE DIRTY LTLE SECRET OF GAY MEN AND METH

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. 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….

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

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.

One explanatn for this uld be that gay men stggle wh acceptance ways straight men don’t have to.