BODY & MIND
Photo Credit: iStockPhoto
Club Drugs in Gayville
It's hard to deny things are looking up for the gay community. Despite social conservatives' attempts to squash progress with their hard-right boot, they just can't seem to stop the slow but inexorable move toward acceptance of gay rights. But it's not all puppy dogs and pumpkin patches in Gayville—even as the gay community makes ongoing strides in visibility and civil rights, heavy drug use continues to wreak havoc on parts of our community, taking some of the luster out of our gains.
The State of Drugs In Gayville
Wanting a better understanding of the current state of drugs in gay culture and how it is affecting gay men's health in particular, RealJock.com turned to Walter Armstrong, former editor of
POZ magazine and a veteran journalist who has written for publications from
Rolling Stone to
Men's Journal. As Armstrong reports, the numbers unfortunately speak for themselves—the drugs of choice may be changing, but we still have a long way to go. Check it out:
Crossed Paths: The Well-Traveled Intersection of Drugs and Gay Culture
Club Drug Education: Know Your Drain Cleaner
Want to educate yourself about the most prevalent club drugs affecting the gay community? Choose your poison:
Crystal Methamphetamine
Ecstasy
GHB
Ketamine
Poppers
Cocaine
Heroin
RELATED ARTICLES
one more thing....
I've been around long enough to know...the methandphedmine known as crystal use was ruining people lives and spreading aids wildfire way before anybody even cared enough to write about it.. excpet back then then it was in the form of crank...crystal is not a new concept just a new spin on an old drug...
I used to buy ectasy and ghb from my local health food store in the early 80's when it was all natural and completly legal...for those who don't know or are to young real ghb is a naturally occuring substance in the human body which we all have it has been used in the treatment of alcholism and other addictions as well as for increased libido and relaxation.. of I course wouldn't touch the crap they push off in the clubs because the indgredients used to make ghb and ectasy are now controlled substances which means the pushers making the stuff are using some type of psuedo hazardous product to make their crap and attching the sales name ghb and ectasy to it..when in actuality it could be something you can find under your kitchen sink..i mean really do you think dealers and drugmakers care what you put in your body NO!!!! their criminals duh!!!!!!!!!. which is why people die all the time from ghb overdose etc...because it is poisen to begin with..
dude,
noone is ignoring crystal..i think steroids doesn't get in the same class as street drugs because people assume that all steroids are of Pharmecuticul quality when in fact 90 percent of steroids in the gyms and on the street are potentially harmful fakes made in a drug labs just as ominous as crystal lab. I hope your able to see the correlation between club drugs and the use of steroids and how one fuels the other. if you are unaware of the correlation then I suggest you go out in nyc to the clubs a couple nights and then go talk to ex bodybuilder/club people who contracted hiv through their enhanced muscle pump and a crystal high..
I'm amazed at the posted reactions to this issue; almost everyone denounced steroids instead of the gay community's real health menace, methamphetamine. I know, because I literally wrote the book on the subject: "Tweakers: How Crystal Meth Is Ravaging Gay America." If you or a friend fears he has a problem with crystal, you can buy my book on Amazon.com. It's been marked down to only 11 bucks! LOL
The analogy between steroids and street/club drugs is a tenuous one. While black market steroids can be abused, cause addiction, steroid rage and liver damage, doctors legally prescribe steroids at much smaller dosages than the black market's, and at lower doses, legal steroids pose none of the problems I've mentioned. Plus, when you get past 40, your body's natural level of testosterone drops dramatically, causing fatigue, depression and impotence, so your testosterone has to be restored artificially with injections. It's called "hormone replacement therapy." Menopausal women have been doing hormone (estrogen) replacement for decades. Only recently have doctors realized older men also need that therapy. It's considered state-of-the-art.
U can't do that...!!
Alcohol Iz Drugs 2...
Hey, listen 2 this song, I did... I found somebody, kinda of...
http://www.myspace.com/etypeus
& the message is Clear!!
I wouldn't add steroids to a list of club drugs to comment on. Personally speaking I have seen steroids do their damage to the human body not to mention the emotional state of others surrounding that person. I speak of my bro who shot up quite literally overnight and even to his amazement and soon addiction (thanks to his personal friend who happened to be a chemist). This was very dangerous. While it gained peoples attention it also gained alienation. Not to mention aggression and the list goes on. The aggression was very hard to live with. Anyway, that's steroids and well I love my bro and soon love conqueres all and he kicked that habit. As for club drugs I have grown up and seen pretty much seen what they can really do - R'shps busted up coz of supposedly not on the sh*t - people shooting up in front of u - people in k-holes and passing out while clubbing - friends freaking out on drugs while clubbing and then some so gone they get in some state they dont even know you. This will never end. Im not some prude coz I have experimented in my youth and always knew the dangers because of educating myself and others educating myself with as much as information as I can get. Atm we have State and Federal governments clamping down on drugs and educating our kids on the dangers via commercials and even a mail drop. This is great but kids will always experiment and so they should in moderation. Lets not forget that clubs and drugs go together - its the culture. Drugs are a release, an escape from reality, but some people dont know control and this is where its dangerous and gets addictive. I could go on and on but hey some of us know what Im on about yet others have never touched the stuff. Its all about choices and control. John.
i find it funny that you didn't add steroids to the list of most commonly used club drugs and drugs used in the gay community...it's a huge problem and has a direct negative affect on peoples health and well being in a lot of cases..I know quite a few people that used them looked great for a year or two then fell completly apart and look horrendus not to mention that it affected there lives just as negativly as street drugs..steroids and club drugs go hand in hand in the club/gay scene..steroids, muscles and a good high= a huge risk for hiv infection and that's a fact...
Nobody here on RealJock has ever done club drugs, right?
I can honestly answer "no" to this question. I have never done any drug accept alcohol or one that requires a prescription from my doctor. I don't get it. Why put yourself in such a risky position. All I have to say is if a guy ends up positive as result of using club drugs, he has no one to blame but himself. Personally, I find it sooo unappealing to see someone sketch out.
Copyright © 2006-2008 RealJock, Inc. All rights reserved
HyPnODuDe wrote:
one more thing....
I've been around long enough to know...the methandphedmine known as crystal use was ruining people lives and spreading aids wildfire way before anybody even cared enough to write about it.. excpet back then then it was in the form of crank...crystal is not a new concept just a new spin on an old drug...
I used to buy ectasy and ghb from my local health food store in the early 80's when it was all natural and completly legal...for those who don't know or are to young real ghb is a naturally occuring substance in the human body which we all have it has been used in the treatment of alcholism and other addictions as well as for increased libido and relaxation.. of I course wouldn't touch the crap they push off in the clubs because the indgredients used to make ghb and ectasy are now controlled substances which means the pushers making the stuff are using some type of psuedo hazardous product to make their crap and attching the sales name ghb and ectasy to it..when in actuality it could be something you can find under your kitchen sink..i mean really do you think dealers and drugmakers care what you put in your body NO!!!! their criminals duh!!!!!!!!!. which is why people die all the time from ghb overdose etc...because it is poisen to begin with..
Oct 13 5:28 PM
HyPnODuDe wrote:
dude,
noone is ignoring crystal..i think steroids doesn't get in the same class as street drugs because people assume that all steroids are of Pharmecuticul quality when in fact 90 percent of steroids in the gyms and on the street are potentially harmful fakes made in a drug labs just as ominous as crystal lab. I hope your able to see the correlation between club drugs and the use of steroids and how one fuels the other. if you are unaware of the correlation then I suggest you go out in nyc to the clubs a couple nights and then go talk to ex bodybuilder/club people who contracted hiv through their enhanced muscle pump and a crystal high..
Oct 13 5:07 PM
ShreddedBeef wrote:
I'm amazed at the posted reactions to this issue; almost everyone denounced steroids instead of the gay community's real health menace, methamphetamine. I know, because I literally wrote the book on the subject: "Tweakers: How Crystal Meth Is Ravaging Gay America." If you or a friend fears he has a problem with crystal, you can buy my book on Amazon.com. It's been marked down to only 11 bucks! LOL
The analogy between steroids and street/club drugs is a tenuous one. While black market steroids can be abused, cause addiction, steroid rage and liver damage, doctors legally prescribe steroids at much smaller dosages than the black market's, and at lower doses, legal steroids pose none of the problems I've mentioned. Plus, when you get past 40, your body's natural level of testosterone drops dramatically, causing fatigue, depression and impotence, so your testosterone has to be restored artificially with injections. It's called "hormone replacement therapy." Menopausal women have been doing hormone (estrogen) replacement for decades. Only recently have doctors realized older men also need that therapy. It's considered state-of-the-art.
Oct 13 4:59 PM
acolyte6 wrote:
U can't do that...!!
Alcohol Iz Drugs 2...
Hey, listen 2 this song, I did... I found somebody, kinda of...
http://www.myspace.com/etypeus
& the message is Clear!!
Oct 13 4:13 PM
RL067 wrote:
I wouldn't add steroids to a list of club drugs to comment on. Personally speaking I have seen steroids do their damage to the human body not to mention the emotional state of others surrounding that person. I speak of my bro who shot up quite literally overnight and even to his amazement and soon addiction (thanks to his personal friend who happened to be a chemist). This was very dangerous. While it gained peoples attention it also gained alienation. Not to mention aggression and the list goes on. The aggression was very hard to live with. Anyway, that's steroids and well I love my bro and soon love conqueres all and he kicked that habit. As for club drugs I have grown up and seen pretty much seen what they can really do - R'shps busted up coz of supposedly not on the sh*t - people shooting up in front of u - people in k-holes and passing out while clubbing - friends freaking out on drugs while clubbing and then some so gone they get in some state they dont even know you. This will never end. Im not some prude coz I have experimented in my youth and always knew the dangers because of educating myself and others educating myself with as much as information as I can get. Atm we have State and Federal governments clamping down on drugs and educating our kids on the dangers via commercials and even a mail drop. This is great but kids will always experiment and so they should in moderation. Lets not forget that clubs and drugs go together - its the culture. Drugs are a release, an escape from reality, but some people dont know control and this is where its dangerous and gets addictive. I could go on and on but hey some of us know what Im on about yet others have never touched the stuff. Its all about choices and control. John.
Oct 13 1:15 PM
HyPnODuDe wrote:
i find it funny that you didn't add steroids to the list of most commonly used club drugs and drugs used in the gay community...it's a huge problem and has a direct negative affect on peoples health and well being in a lot of cases..I know quite a few people that used them looked great for a year or two then fell completly apart and look horrendus not to mention that it affected there lives just as negativly as street drugs..steroids and club drugs go hand in hand in the club/gay scene..steroids, muscles and a good high= a huge risk for hiv infection and that's a fact...
Oct 12 11:27 PM
dlf0522 wrote:
Nobody here on RealJock has ever done club drugs, right?
I can honestly answer "no" to this question. I have never done any drug accept alcohol or one that requires a prescription from my doctor. I don't get it. Why put yourself in such a risky position. All I have to say is if a guy ends up positive as result of using club drugs, he has no one to blame but himself. Personally, I find it sooo unappealing to see someone sketch out.
Oct 11 12:16 PM