ssh-chemsex-study-final-main-report

still used it. In comparison, crystal meth had both
a reputation as the ultimate chemsex drug and as
dangerous because, unlike mephedrone, it was widely
assumed to be very addictive. Among users of crystal
meth, many described it as their ideal chemsex drug.
Alongside feelings of euphoria, it was reported to
heighten sexual appetite and stamina (see chapter 5.2).
More so than any of the other chemsex drugs, crystal
meth polarised views among the participants. One in five
had never taken it, and vowed they never would. Among
the others, some who had taken it would not buy it and
only took it opportunistically. It was widely feared for its
addictive qualities and its association with injecting drug
use (slamming).
“ Crystal I’ve dabbled in. Usually I would buy a quarter
at Christmas and it would fuel me through the
Christmas and New Year parties [...] When my usual
dealer that just did ketamine was away on holiday for a
month he recommended this other guy. I went to him
to get ketamine and he did other stuff and said, and
he did Tina. I thought, bloody hell, I haven’t had that
for ages so that started my slippery slope of me taking
it and me taking it more often, I found that instead
of being at the weekends it was every day and me
thinking, oh I’ll take some in the morning and all sorts
of stupid stuff like that and then of course it leads to
sex all the time. ”
[Aged 48, diagnosed HIV positive]
While these three drugs – mephedrone, GHB/ GBL and
crystal meth – are central to most of the narratives about
chemsex, other drugs were routinely discussed. Many
describe using erection enhancing drugs to counter
the effects of the above. Some described using a wide
variety of other drugs especially ketamine, ecstasy and
cocaine, although these had seemingly fallen out of
fashion with the rise of mephedrone and GHB/GBL. There
was also a widespread assumption that there had been a
decline in the purity and strength of ecstasy and cocaine
over the last decade.
If there is a fourth drug that is most closely allied to
chemsex narratives it is ketamine, but its effects are
substantially different from the main three drugs.
Ketamine is a dissociative (a class of hallucinogen) which
distorts perceptions of sight and sound and produces
feelings of detachment and dissociation – from the
environment and the self. In low doses ketamine is used
as a club drug, or to improve the experience of receptive
anal intercourse and fisting.
4.2 DRUG USE INITIATION NARRATIVES
The majority of participants had a history of recreational
drug use prior to becoming involved in chemsex as it
is described here. Many described having previously
used club and dance drugs, especially ecstasy and/or
amphetamines like speed. Indeed a large proportion
of participants had, at some point during their lives,
consumed most of the illicit drugs popular in the last few
decades.
‘a large proportion of
participants had, at some point
during their lives, consumed
most of the illicit drugs popular
in the last few decades.’
The only drugs that were very rare in any man’s drug
history were heroin and crack cocaine. While a very
small number of participants had tried heroin out of
curiosity, they almost universally looked down on these
drugs as dangerously addictive. Some men viewed
crystal meth with a similar fear and distaste but this
perception was universal, or near universal, in relation to
heroin and crack. Many men described using GHB/GBL,
mephedrone and even crystal meth as a predictable and
understandable next step in their drug use career. This
was not a classic progression from softer to harder drugs
and eventual addiction, as commonly depicted in the
mainstream media, but something more akin to following
a changing community norm (or a fashion), driven by
price, availability and perceived quality. This is not to say
there were no accounts of men taking to chemsex drugs
with limited or no previous experience of other illicit
substances, but these accounts were rare.
The Chemsex Study | 4. THE CONTEXT OF CHEMSEX 33