Is Crystal Uncool?

I used Crystal Meth in the 80's. Many who used with me are no longer here to represent the forefront of the epidemic.

I have yet to met anyone who used, who could cut back, or limit themselves. Once you start, you keep going until it is gone.

We should keep in mind that there were *some* of us who could do this once a month and not become addicted. But meth was never "cool" really, just like heroin wasn't. There was always a substantial amount of people, at least in my circles, who always looked down on it, even though they had no problem doing other, less-addictive, drugs.

One of the problems with (many) drugs addict is that they only know other addicts or they know non-users. It's all black and white, with no grey.

Meth is not popular everywhere. Here in central NC we rarely see patients in the emergency room who test positive for it; crack, marijuana, alcohol and opiate pain medications are the drugs of choice here. Crystal meth is generally perceived as a drug of the rural poor ("hillbilly cocaine") and not "cool".

as with any addiction,you just have to quit. You say no more. If you are too stubborn or too weak to do this you die. Its really very simple. You may choose to pray,substitute this addiction with another addiction(my choice),find more constructive things to do with your life,it really doesnt matter just so you quit. Half way measures just make the problem worse.

I think that gay men have their head in the sand about a lot of health/ substance abuse issues. I think the campaigns to stop meth use, drug/alcohol/smoking abuse seem to be willy nilly in many areas of the US. I am not sure why. Maybe it is because a lot of these campaigns are in the print media and they do not want to scare off advertisers with realistic ads.

Here in Phoenix for example, syphilis is endemic in the gay/MSM community, not good. There have been some cutesy ads promoting awareness about this and that is about it. I think that scary ads along with outreach to gay men needs to happen.People use to hand out condoms and flyers about safe sex. I have not seen that with "tina" here though it may happen elsewhere.

Maybe there should be some gay funded studies about what type of campaigns people are sponsoring about harm reduction and quitting tina and if there is a correlation between lower STD/HIV rates of infection.

To me, the question "Is crystal meth uncool?" reflects what I see as the real problem - the mixed and confusing messages within the gay community about drug use.

I'm yet to be convinced that any one drug is 'better' or 'worse' than any other. The real issue is the gay community's overall hypocrital attitude to drug use and the confused messages it sends out.

Drug use in general is condoned within the gay community. In fact, my recollections of first coming out are that it was actively promoted.

What's 'in' or 'cool' this year is out and uncool a few years later.

IMO. Drug use and opinions on its use brings out the worst in the 'gay community', if such a community exists. When your in the 'scene' drug use is rampant and noone really seems to give a rats arse as to how much you use or how often. If you fall off the edge and become addicted you disappear from the 'scene' and this so called community treats you wish scorn, disdain and even contempt.

Campaigns such as 'Crystal free and sexy', whilst admirable do nothing to address the broader issues of drug use amongst gay men. If meth use is falling, I suspect that something new or better or cooler has simply replaced it.

And, I should ad that I don't make my statements as some sort of anti-drg campaigner. I've spent the the last 20 years as a casual but reasonably regular injecting drug user, crystal included, and don't plan on stopping any time soon.

Harm Reduction is ludicrous for most addictive behaviors, except perhaps with food. Obviously right?

The nature of addiction dictates this fact and crystal is no exception. It is the big daddy of addictions primarily because of hyper increased dopamine which of course results in recall, in addition to the highly sexual nature of the activity associate with the drug.

AA bitches!!!

I don't agree that harm reduction or harm minimisation as we call it here is ludicrous.

The way I understand it to work, at least in relation to heroin addiction in Aus, is that the aim really is to maintain contact with the person and reduce the likelihood that they will end up dead before they finally decided that they want to kick the addiction.

Near where I live is a 'safe injecting room' where injecting drug users can go and have their hit with clean needles, in private and with medical care on hand if needed for overdoses etc. By having this room available, health care professionals are able to maintain contact with the addict and make sure that they don't overdose while still addicted.

We all know that you can't make an addict stop, but if there is contact and a good rapore/trust is built up then you can offer help and support and when/if the addict wants to quit the support network is there for them.

Think about this Peter: where would we be if you hadn't placed those ads?

I agree with you re: abstinence. After harm reduction, then what? Harm reduction is merely a means of achieving the goal of abstinence.

Ultimately substance use/addiction is a symptom of the much larger, difficult problem of dysfunctional "Gay" Culture. There is a clear distinction to be made between sexual orientation (homosexual) and learned cultural identity ("Gay").

Using meth has nothing to do with loving men.

Maybe it is because a lot of these campaigns are in the print media and they do not want to scare off advertisers with realistic ads.In private and with medical care on hand if needed for overdoses etc. By having this room available, health care professionals are able to maintain contact with the addict and make sure that they don't overdose while still addicted.You may choose to pray,substitute this addiction with another addiction(my choice),find more constructive things to do with your life,it really doesnt matter just so you quit. Half way measures just make the problem worse.

Meth was great the first time back in January of 2002 on an extended trip to San Francisco, I had a 4 day meth orgy at the Four Seasons. Then I went home and discovered that meth plus internet made for no more lonely nights or weekends.

Then came HIV, that made it better, i could fuck and get fucked with the best of them with no regard for the what ifs. Then came the sad realization that this wasn't real this was just guys using each other for depraved sex. Then came the needle, man was that a high, i don't remember that night but I remember the crash.

Now i can't figure out how to negotiate sex and dating without meth, and I'm the loneliest guy in the world even if I have the magic baggie, I'm still alone no matter who's in the bed with me.

Peter,

I strongly believe that the campaigns went a long way at marginalizing the drug. But due to the very destructive nature of the drug, those of us that developed the campaigns may have only highlighted a problem/social phenomenon that was going to happen on it own. That being that many will destroy their lives and this information will reach critical mass in the community and many will choose to opt out and keep their friends and lovers away from it.

The issue now: who is using and what damage are they causing? Unfortunately, with no real data, we have no way of knowing and this, of course, is very sad. I must tell you and your readers that I know a number of people that have gone back on to Manhunt recently only to find that the crystal meth parties are as plentiful as ever. It takes merely a couple of minutes and a few key word search terms and you're on your way to another pathetic meth party filled with tweeked out messes bent on self-destruction.

Its my OPINION that the crytal has left the clubs and the bars and now exists in the internet ether among people that know each other and know of each other. The part that worries me the most is the example they set for the unsuspecting or lonely or naive men that have not been educated, or have been educated, but are turned on by "rule breaking".

I often fantasize about attending these parties to "bare witness" to what is happening at them and the risks that these people take and then document their actions for the larger community to see. These parties are scary and pathetic affairs that are all too commonplace behind closed doors in New York and other cities and perhaps in thousands and thousands of locations that we could never gain an accurate count of.

The meth partiers today are people that simply do not care about cool, do not care about the health and well being of their gay brothers and simply want to shut out the pain and challenges of the real world and of actual intimacy.

The problem as I see it today is that there is no real "social barrier" for these folks and as it seems to them, its low risk. And as crystal meth gets pushed farther underground the question of cool no longer is relevant... they want to be high and fuck and so they get high and fuck as many people as possible. That's the game and as long as they get to play without any inherent social and societal cost, they'll continue to do it and put others at risk.

I dream of the day when I can go on Manhunt and "TAG" an individual as a meth user and their home as a "meth den" so that those that choose to stay away can stay away. At this point, I fear that's all we can do to protect our loved ones from this horrific drug and the insane people that still use it.

Ugh. The very concepts of "cool" and "uncool" help explain meth use, bareback sex, and a host of other behaviors most humans can live without. Meth is nasty no matter how you take it or what the dose is. If I want to feel like shit for hours there are far less expensive and safer substances I can shove up my nose, probably including Crystal Drano, which is at least formulated consistently.

You may want to sit before reading more but I agree his point isn't made and it's irrelevant anyway. As a life-long card-carrying exemplar of an "addictive personality" I know harm reduction doesn't work for me and many others. It's Nancy's way or no way. I have another quibble with Stiffler: "general consensus" is redundant.

And, dear Pete, another plea to let me proofread your writing before production: "Any strong communal response most offer both abstinence and..."

1) do you mean communal or community? Use of words like communal in the U.S.A. opens one to accusations of socialist leanings or worse.
2) MORE IMPOTENTLY... "most" should be "must" -- please correct that ASAP. You know how impotent I feel with typos I can't correct.

innertubebliss was composing an epic of inchoate thought, cliches, psycho-babble, and other meaningless drivel to post in solidarity but was banned before given the chance. and to delete all 3 of his extant posts is not only gross censorship but petty and churlish.

L&K...

Thanks for the shout-out to Harm Reduction.
See the great link to SF AIDS Foundation's ground-breaking Harm Reduction program for speed using gay/bi/hetero-flexible men