Former San Francis meth lord speaks out about dg addictn the gay muny

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
• EXPLORG FLUENC ON METHAMPHETAME E AMONG BLACK GAY, BISEXUAL AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN ATLANTA: A FOC GROUP STUDY
• 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
• WHY IS CRYSTAL METH SO MON THE GAY MUNY?
• WHAT IS IT ABOUT GAY MEN AND CRYSTAL METH?
• METH USE AMONG GAY MEN: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
• CRYSTAL METH AND GAY MEN
• METHAMPHETAME TREATMENT OUT AMONG GAY MEN ATTENDG A LGBTI-SPECIFIC TREATMENT SERVICE SYDNEY, ATRALIA

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. 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.

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. 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.

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

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. 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. 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.

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.

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

Cooper, ScDc, dAbstractBackground:Methamphetame e is a ntributor to HIV risk and poor health out among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex wh men (GBMSM).

Keywords: methamphetam, gay men, MSM, Black/Ain-Amerin, HIVINTRODUCTIONMethamphetame e is an ongog threat to dividual and public health the Uned Stat (US); approximately 1 ln people the US met creria for methamphetame e disorr 2019 (Substance Abe and Mental Health Servic Admistratn (SAMHSA), 2020).

Among chronic ers, long-term effects of methamphetame e clu nropsychiatric problems such as impaired psychomotor functn, memory fics, prsn, paranoia and psychosis (Courtney & Ray, 2014; Radfar & Rawson, 2014).

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

The Southern US, home to a large proportn of Black gay men, is the regn of the untry that currently bears the heavit burn of HIV (Adimora, 2013; Gray et al., 2016; Prejean, Tang, & Hall, 2013; Reif et al., 2014). Elevated risk for HIV and s plitns among Black GBMSM the South n be attributed to multi-level stctural barriers related to nservative cultural beliefs and polici this regn – rultg systemic racism, homophobia, poorer accs to healthre, lower tn rat, and higher rat of poverty, (Adimora, 2013; Cramer et al., 2017; Geter et al., 2016; Stopka et al., 2018).

Historilly, most studi found that Black GBMSM had lower rat of methamphetame e relative to whe gay men (Garofalo, Mtanski, McKirnan, Herrick, & Donenberg, 2007; Grov, Bimbi, Nan, & Parsons, 2006; Halkis, Green, & Mourgu, 2005). Two staff members, both gay-intified men of lour wh master’s gre and extensive qualative rearch trag and experience, nducted the FGDs g a semi-stctured gui. Dcriptns of Foc Group Discsns (FGDs)FGD numberDcriptn of Key InformantsNumber of participantsLotn of FGD1Young Black gay men om rearch team’s muny advisory board8Universy2Staff members at an anizatn offerg HIV, mental health and substance e servic6Communy36Communy4Staff members and clients at an anizatn providg substance e servic for Black gay men6Communy5Members of a muny-based anizatn for olr Black gay men livg wh HIV6Communy6Clil and rearch staff affiliated wh a large HIV re center and our universy7Universy7Members of a muny-based anizatn for young Black gay men7Communy8Staff members at an anizatn providg harm rctn and lkage to HIV servic for people who e dgs8CommunyAll transcripts were imported to MaxQDA 20 (VERBI Software, Berl, Germany), a qualative data management software package.

Ls than high school4% (2) High school diploma12% (6) Some llege12% (6) Associat gree/technil certifitn10% (5) Bachelor’s gree36% (19) Graduate gree26% (14)Chang and trends methamphetame eMovg om the whe gay muny to the Black gay muny Participants discsed several chang that they perceived wh rpect to the prevalence of methamphetame e the Black gay muny Atlanta.

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

Participants scribed racialized and sexualized trends methamphetame e that they had observed over the past , wh the nsistent rea that methamphetame was prevly ed almost exclively by whe people, but that e had now “creeped to the Black gay muny. ” Wh gay muni, this was also a move between class – where wealthier whe GBMSM the “party scene” were the origators of methamphetame e that was now tricklg down to lower-e Black GBMSM that were not necsarily a part of that same participants scribed this movement to the Black gay muny as happeng directly through dividual-level ter-racial nnectns, cludg non-Black iends or sex work clients:I feel like a lot of young Black boys, when they turn to rtg and then they go out there and they get troduced to this dg through, you know, other rac and natnali. I was gog to say that unfortunately, due to the socenomic stat of most gay Black men the cy, which is below poverty, that’s a lot of gay Black men the cy, and the entry pot for methamphetame purchase is about $100 or so.

The racialised power dynamic is scribed leadg up to the iatn of methamphetame e (where young Black men dire fancial stras get troduced to and “hooked on” methamphetame durg sexual enunters wh wealthier whe men) and is also perpetuated further after e begs, as (the young Black men scribed here do not have the rourc to procure methamphetame, and so mt ntue to be exploed this manner) should be noted that although several participants discsed the typ of direct nnectns between Black and whe GBMSM, others clearly stated that the dg now had a hold Black gay muni, so that Black GBMSM were now jt as likely to be troduced to methamphetam through members of their own muny.

However, they ma clear that the overall pattern was that prevalent methamphetame e had moved om whe gay muni to Black gay meth, uld be perceptn, I don’t know, but always was, the perceptn was that meth was a whe boy dg and you know, the whe kids the suburbs were dog a lot of meth and now all of a sudn, ’s a black gay man problem.

WHY IS CRYSTAL METH SO MON THE GAY MUNY?

(Foc Group 6)Others also felt that although methamphetame e was beg troduced to the Black gay muny via younger men, would eventually dissemate to olr age groups as ’s not that prevalent men who are olr, but ’s still part of the procs bee there are men who are olr who are sexually active wh younger guys. They are sellg Ta [methamphetam] bee they know that this a marketable source nsirg the fact that Atlanta is full of gays and they are all gog towards T [methamphetam] so nobody is buyg a gram of weed for $10 when they n buy a gram of T for $60.

(Foc Group 3)In ntrast to the discsns of racialised power dynamics and sexual exploatn scribed the Black gay muny, the drivg force the wir Black muny was scribed as beg primarily enomic – relatg to supply, mand and profs that uld be ma om methamphetam vers other Environment: Micro-level factorsParticipants discsed micro-level fluenc on iatn of methamphetame e among their clients/work acquatanc as well as their own personal works. It was monly acknowledged that Black GBMSM, pecially younger Black GBMSM, often move to Atlanta seekg enomic opportuny and/or eedom of sexual exprsn the lol Black gay scene. In many s, young Black GBMSM were scribed as migratg om areas that were more ral, more nservative and ls gay-iendly than Atlanta, so that this move reprented their first exposure to a gay muny.

Um, I believe there’s a – and I speak for myself, um, I me up to this [gay] liftyle a hurt dividual, seekg validatn and seekg approval and attentn, and I kd of gravated towards the dgs so as a way of numbg everythg that I didn’t like about myself, everythg that didn’t feel good about myself, and changg my own perceptn of thgs.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT GAY MEN AND CRYSTAL METH?

Specifilly, participants named homophobia and related rejectn om home fai and muni as mon roots of trma the muny, and they discsed how methamphetam and other substanc were ed to addrs the typ of Environment: Mo-level factorsDiscsns of mo-level fluenc primarily foced on social environments that facilated methamphetame e often reflected the predomant nceptualizatn of methamphetam as a sex dg. Several participants referred to the ncept of “party and play” or “PNP”, which was scribed as a well-known phrase wh the gay muny referrg to the e of methamphetame durg sex to enhance sexual pleasure, cludg by prolongg sexual enunters and/or rcg hibns.

METH USE AMONG GAY MEN: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

I thk that’s particularly bad bee we, as Black gay men, we are ls equipped, as people we are ls equipped, to al wh the negative effects of dg abe that whe gays and whatnot, bee they have more wealth, more tn, and they are more equipped to stave off the negative effects, to get accs to treatment, to get accs to help. Stctural terventns to provi hog and/or fancial support, clil terventns to enhance methamphetame treatment and mental health re optns more broadly, and behavural terventns, particularly among geographilly mobile populatns of younger Black GBMSM, uld all have a role preventg methamphetame the mo-level, our participants extensively discsed the ternnectedns between methamphetame e and the sex scene, cludg clubs and sex parti, nsistent wh many prr characterizatns of methamphetame e the gay muny over the last and a half. Addnally, although our participants were very knowledgeable about the Black gay muny Atlanta, we did not tentnally rec people wh personal histori of methamphetame e for this ial exploratory study – scriptns of dg e and s fluenc were therefore send-hand most s.

Work other ntexts has suggted HIV risk migatn wh creased PrEP utilizatn among GBMSM who e methamphetam (Hammoud et al., 2020; Hammoud et al., 2018), future work should exame relatnships between PrEP e and methamphetame e Southern Black gay muni as well. The event follows the overdose aths of two black gay men the Wt Hollywood apartment of Democratic donor Ed Buck, who was acced last fall of jectg fatal dos of crystal methamphetame to victims for his own sexual gratifitn. There are “fluencers on Instagram wh a hundred thoand followers, and they’re dog crystal meth on the si, and no one unrstands or even knows that and everyone’s sred to talk about , ” he Puy, who has been sober for eight years, said that, like many young gay men who e to Wt Hollywood, he had not been tght about gay sex and was ashamed by .

“As you move to onle, there’s no way of outreachg to the muny or havg support groups for gay, bisexual men or even the transgenr muny, unls you have the abily to go virtual, ” Zaldivar add.

CRYSTAL METH AND GAY MEN

While the LGBT muny has had a long history of dg e, the rise of meth age across the untry and here Florida has ntued to grow at an alarmg rate, pecially among gay men. Meth has bee more wily available on gay datg apps, such as Tr and Grdr, makg easier for ers to accs the dg through party v to chemsex parti and meet other ers. For gay men who experience ternalized homophobia and shame, the unrealistic standards of sex and bety wh the gay muny n tensify their negative views on themselv and their posn wh the muny.

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. 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. 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.

METHAMPHETAME TREATMENT OUT AMONG GAY MEN ATTENDG A LGBTI-SPECIFIC TREATMENT SERVICE SYDNEY, ATRALIA

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. 18 The parti are beg very popular gay culture bee facilat the teractn wh other MSM and often lowers hibn for oteric sex (eg, fistg) that n crease the risk for HIV and other STIs. 22 From 2011 to 2015, HIV diagnos remaed stable among all Hispanics and Latos; while HIV diagnos creased by 14% among Hispanic women/Latas the creased by 19% among young Hispanic/Lato gay and bisexual men aged 13 to 24.

26Internalized Homophobia, Stigma, and IntyThe relatnships between ternalized homophobia, stigma, and inty wh sexual risk behavrs and dg e have been tablished among sexual mori and vary by age and ethnicy. The Mory Strs Mol is a nceptual amework, which is based on the factors that subsequently lead to health dispari cludg discrimatn stigma, homophobia, pg mechanisms, and stctural vlence, and negative attus toward the self.