London Friend: Drug Money

‘Out of your mind’ is a new report examining how drug and alcohol treatment services can be improved for lesbian, gay, bisexual & trans (LGBT) people. The report aims to encourage commissioners and providers of drug and alcohol treatment services to be more mindful of the support needs of LGBT people when planning and delivering services.

The report comes as concerns are rising about the risks associated with ‘chemsex’, the use of certain drugs in sexualised settings, particularly amongst gay and bisexual men.*

Out Of Your Mind draws together the latest research on drug and alcohol use by LGBT people, looking at how use has changed over recent years, as new harms and treatment needs related to newer drugs like mephedrone and GHB/GBL have emerged. The report draws on interviews and discussions with LGBT people in treatment and commissioners of services, and makes recommendations for Public Health England, local Public Health teams, drug & alcohol treatment services and front line staff, and researchers. It also includes some practical toolkits to help local planning and drive service improvements.

'Literally'?

London Friend Chief Executive Monty Moncrieff says: “Our research has found very poor representation of LGBT treatment need in local needs assessment, and our clients have told us treatment services don’t always understand the drugs they are using, or how they’re being used. It feels like LGBT issues are literally out of people’s minds when they plan and deliver drug and alcohol services. We hope this report will encourage better consideration of the different treatment and support needs LGBT people have.”

The report also coincides with the publication of the draft Strategic Framework for improving the health and wellbeing of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) by Public Health England.

Monty Moncrieff says: “Our Antidote drug and alcohol service has seen very big changes in the way chemsex drugs are affecting the men we work with, and we’re seeing a rise in injecting, people becoming dependent on GHB/GBL, and increasing concerns about people’s emotional wellbeing that we weren’t seeing even five years ago. The MSM framework from Public Health England is really welcome, and we’re very pleased to see some of their planned actions reflect our own recommendations, but we also need to think about the treatment needs of lesbian women as well as bisexual and trans people too.”

Out Of Your Mind has been produced as part of a project funded by a Department of Health grant.

London Friend.

Fagburn wonders if viewers can think of any organisations that would benefit from an increase in funding for LGBT drug and alcohol services to combat this NEW GAY DRUGS EPIDEMIC?

* Really? Who says so? Oh...

STI: A Perfect Storm

When The Independent meets David Stuart it is a perfect storm of hysterical nonsense.
Another "crisis"?!!
This man is the gay Chicken Licken.
Or is it David Icke?

QX: A Fan Letter To David Stuart

David Stuart is widely regarded as one of the foremost drugs and sexual health experts for the LGBT community in London and the UK. QX spoke to him last summer about the events surrounding gay men’s drug use and health issues, and here we present our conversation...

QX magazine.

Hahaha!

This is the man behind the crystal meth myths.

And also about GHB.

Such a fawning, unquestioning interview a cynic might think David wrote it himself. 

Oh, hang on...

Note how the longest section is about getting more funding for Antidote.

#innocentface

Update: David tweeted to inform me he is no longer with Antidote, and is now with 56 Dean Street. 

'Slamming': 'Meteoric' Crap About Gay Men And Drugs By - Surprise! - The Independent

Three times as many gay and bisexual men in London inject drugs than in England as a whole, according to new analysis, which also found that four times as many use crystal meth in the capital than across the rest of the country.

The figures, compiled by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), reinforce experts’ warnings of a “meteoric” rise in the number of gay men injecting drugs such as mephedrone, GHB or crystal meth, in the capital. The trend – known as “slamming” – gives users a more intense high and commonly takes places at sex parties which can go on for several days, according to experts; they warn that the trend could be linked to a disturbing rise in HIV infection rates.

The number of men injecting in a sexual context quadrupled between 2011 and 2013, according to Antidote, the UK’s only lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender drug and alcohol support service. More than 60 per cent of their clients injected drugs last year. This is double the number who injected in 2010. Nine years ago, fewer than 1 per cent were injecting drugs.

Antidote has been “overwhelmed” by men presenting with health conditions from the sexualised use of these drugs – which increase libido while decreasing sexual inhibition...

The Independent.

Apologies for not writing this earlier today.

Even though I've been writing this blog about coverage of gay men in the media for almost four years now, sometimes an article comes along that's so spectacularly shit and cranium-shatteringly stupid that I am - temporarily - literally lost for words.

Of course, one can have nothing but respect for the thoughts of a journalist who bills themselves 'Human Rights Correspondent' - as does Sarah Morrison.

So when she warns of 'a “meteoric” rise in the number of gay men injecting drugs' it's hard not to believe her - even though the number of gay men we are talking about here is so small it's almost statistically insignificant - and not think it's easier to file a news story based on hyperbole and scare-mongering.

And I am sure Sarah has an intimate knowledge of the gay chem-sex parties ("which can go on for several days, according to experts") of which she writes.

One can only admire a journalist who writes an expose that hinges on the word "anecdotally", cites tiny subject-specific self-selecting surveys as "proof", and backs it all up by quoting someone called "Jason (not his real name)".

Likewise, Antidote are a great organisation - and it would be cynical to suggest they have here invented a problem - "Slamming" WTF? - that doesn't really exist as that's how they can get even more funding.

It's not like they have any history of that sort of thing. 

Oh no.

Boys, The Independent On Sunday has discovered we are all fucking and drugging ourselves to death.

Although there is absolutely no evidence for that.

PS Interesting you can't leave comments after this feature. Shame - as every gay man I've communicated with thinks it's a piece of utter shit. I've asked Sarah Morrison and the IoS to get them to turn it on.

PPS The straight - and sometimes sadly gay - press love these kind of unfounded scare stories. See also: "bug chasing", and the imminent invasion of crystal meth - now regularly predicted for 20 years!