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| Editors’ note: This is the first in a series examining the drug crystal methamphetamine and its impact on gay men. |
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: JOE CREA
COMMENTS
For nine years, crystal methamphetamine was a “totally manageable” drug
for “Carlos,” a 35-year-old D.C. man who asked to remain anonymous.
His use was limited to the weekends to attain a high that he shared on the
dance floor or at small parties with friends. One of his favorite activities
was taking a bump of crystal on a Saturday morning, turning up the stereo and
cleaning the house.
But in early 2001, the frequency of Carlos’ use of crystal meth increased
to dangerous levels. The worry-free Saturday mornings were supplanted by the
drug’s well-known menacing hold: binge bumping, lack of sleep, recklessness
and as Carlos describes it, an insatiable hunt for “animalistic sex.”
“I started doing things sexually on crystal that I wouldn’t normally
do,” said Carlos, who added that he and his partner never practiced unsafe
sex during their escapades. “My partner and I started doing three-ways,
and I soon found out that we were trying to top our last sexual experience.
“Once you get into the true addictive stage [of crystal], the sexual
experience must be bigger than, and more intense than, the previous one. If
you did a three-way last weekend, you have to do two three-ways the following
weekend, or a four-way. At the time I felt this was all perfectly reasonable
and fine.”
Crystal methamphetamine — also known as, crystal, crank, tweak, T, go-fast,
speed and Tina — is an amphetamine-based drug designed to stimulate the
central nervous system. It is typically snorted, smoked, injected or swallowed
and has become a favorite drug among club-goers, notably among gay men.
Studies have shown that the preferred method for taking the drug varies from
region to region. According to a 2000 study by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, 60 percent of crystal meth users in San Diego prefer to smoke the drug,
while a majority of users in the Minneapolis area sniff it. In Texas, 60 percent
of users were found to be injecting the drug.
According to the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an estimated
8.8 million people (four percent of the population) have tried methamphetamine
at some time in their lives, up from 4.8 million in 1996.
Regional data suggest that the problem is on the rise among gay men. In San
Francisco, health officials estimate that up to 40 percent of gay men have
tried crystal meth, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.
In New York, a study last year found that more than 50 percent of gay men
who admitted to using drugs or alcohol in the previous year had also tried
crystal meth, up from 10 percent of gay men surveyed in bars and clubs in 1998,
according to research by the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies & Training.
One bump of crystal can result in a six- to 24-hour high, marked by a decreased
appetite and lowered inhibitions, said Joseph LaFleur, a licensed, independent
clinical social worker and club-drug counselor in the D.C. area.
“Crystal meth gives one a sense of well-being and belonging,” LaFleur
said. “People say they easily fit into most social situations, have more
energy for dancing, better interactions with people and a lot of folks use
it to enhance their sexual experiences.”
But despite the perceived “benefits” the drug produces, the immediate
and long-term results are harmful, said Michael Siever, director of the Stonewall
Project, a harm reduction-counseling program for gay and bisexual men in San
Francisco.
“A lot of people, over time, start to get more and more paranoid,” Siever
said. “They get psychotic; the crash is horrible. Everyone is ready to
quit while they are crashing but that subsides. … One of the biggest
side effects is that people don’t take care of themselves when they are
high — they don’t eat, sleep — and the drug has some pretty
long-term lasting effects on your brain chemistry. It strongly impacts the
dopamine in your brain and that does not heal quickly.”
Siever described crystal abuse as an ongoing crisis that has been an issue
for many years. He said statistics in California show that it is the most commonly
used drug on the West Coast.
One of the biggest problems related to crystal abuse is its strong link to
risky sex and HIV transmission, Siever said.
“The two issues are intertwined,” he said. “A lot of men
shoot speed and that’s a possible method of HIV transmission. And secondly,
the reality for most gay men is that when they get high, they tend to have
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