Mar 23, 2007  |  By: ELIZABETH PERRY  | COMMENTS     

Despite several years of outreach and educational campaigns aimed at curtailing crystal meth use, three new studies indicate that the drug remains popular among local gay men and that users have a high rate of HIV infection.

Crystal Meth Working Group conducted an informal survey and outreach project during January and February of 420 gay club-goers and web users in Washington. Of those, 291 had never used meth while 129 had. Michael Sessa, president of the D.C. Center for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender People and co-chair of the Crystal Meth Working Group said he is concerned about those who have tried the drug.

“Out of 420 surveys, 69 percent have never done meth,” Sessa said. “That’s a nice number but the flip side is a concern. If 69 percent have never done it, then 31 percent have done meth at some point in their lives. That’s one in three people. That’s a big number. And one in 10 have done it in six months.”

The Crystal Meth Working Group is an information clearinghouse and outreach program for Washington residents seeking resources and services. Its survey was non-scientific. In addition to it, there were two other recent studies looking at local meth use. One analysis used data from Whitman-Walker’s Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study and was conducted by Georgetown University epidemiologist George Plankey, in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases. His results will be published next month in the Journal of AIDS, but an abstract was made available to the Blade.

Another study is a summary report on statistics of clients seeking treatment for drug addiction. Data was compiled by the Whitman-Walker Clinic’s Addiction Services program and released last month.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agency, the market for crystal meth in the city has traditionally been limited, with crack cocaine being the most common drug on D.C.’s streets. Scientific and anecdotal data show crystal meth first became popular in 2003 and its use has grown more common ever since.

“It’s continuing to rise from year to year,” said Amy Smith, clinical program manager at Whitman-Walker Clinic Addiction Services. “I don’t think it’s an epidemic. It’s found its place here for a while, just like crack did.”

Addiction services professionals and law enforcement officials are concerned that crystal meth is spreading from the club culture to the general population. Lt. Alberto Jova of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, said the drug hit the area eight to 10 years ago, but most significantly in the past five years.

“There have been no full-fledged labs found in the city,” he said. “There have been mini or portable labs or evidence that people were trying. Labs can be found as close as Montgomery and Prince William counties.”

Literature from the National Drug Intelligence Center describes meth as a clear synthetic stimulant that resembles small shards of glass or shiny white rocks. It has a higher purity level than powdered meth and produces a longer-lasting high. The drug, sometimes called Tina, ice or glass, can be snorted, smoked, injected or administered via enema or “booty-bump.”

Experts said meth can cause rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure and damage to blood vessels in the brain that can lead to stroke. Users who inject have an increased risk of contracting HIV, Hepatitis B and C and other blood viruses.

Meth is a psychologically addictive drug that makes chronic users feel they cannot live without it. The National Drug Intelligence Center said users experience episodes of violent behavior, paranoia, anxiety, confusion and insomnia. The drug can even induce ongoing psychotic flashbacks for months or years after the user stops taking it.



Young gays at risk

In the Whitman-Walker study, all the clients using amphetamines were men, more than 75 percent were white and 82 percent identified themselves as gay. The average age of users seeking treatment was 42.

Sessa said younger gay males between 14 and 22 are most at risk for drug addiction because they are dealing with sexual orientation issues as well as the continuing growth and development changes that come with late adolescence. The working group is conducting outreach to gays in this age range.

“Most of the time it’s not the people themselves calling,” he said. “It’s their loved ones. I get lots of calls for support groups for people indirectly affected — friends, lovers, family ...