Crystal Myth - A Fraction Too Much Fiction

Support, By Christian Taylor, 10th July, 2007

So much gets said about gays and drugs. Like Liza Minelli and homosexual husbands, the two often go hand in hand. We’re in the grip of an ice epidemic, we’re party obsessed, we’re promiscuous barebackers – all too often these are the stories that get us column inches.

Last week two new stories emerged, both from different parts of the world, both saying two very different things. A story from the New Zealand Herald said that gay people are four times more likely to take drugs than their straight counterparts. However, a story from America’s Windy City Times said that most gay people don’t actually take drugs at all.

New Zealand’s Massey University analysed government data from 15,000 people and found that while gays drank broadly similar quantities to straights, they also were twice as likely to use pot, and were 50% more likely to smoke tobacco. Gays were also four times more likely to use speed and acid and three times as likely to take pills.

According to Frank Pega, a spokesperson for the study, we’re all basketcases, running to the bottle because of discrimination. “Other research has already established that gay, lesbian and bisexual people’s substance use is related to their exposure to personal, institutional and societal discrimination… and to social stress arising from this experience,” he said. But is this the case? How many of us actually regard ourselves as victims?

If we jump over to America, Chicago to be specific, things are sounding a little different. Susan Kingston from the King County Department of Public Health in Seattle is an expert on crystal meth, and she’s one of a few who are bringing a breath of fresh air to the gay drug use debate. Crystal meth is being talked about as being the most addictive drug out there, the most impossible to treat and the worst drug to hit gay communities worldwide. According to Kingston, much of the so called ‘ice age’ is a media driven myth. She says that newspapers rarely report on the good news, and as such gay communities suffer the same blows time after time.

“I would be so excited if I heard… a gay newspaper say most gay men don’t use drugs [and] most gay men don’t have HIV; they take care of themselves sexually; they’re not reckless; they’re not irresponsible; they go to work; they shop for groceries; [and] they value love just like anybody else,” said Kingston during a public presentation last month. She says that the hype about crystal has led to it being demonised, even within the community, which stands in the way of those who need help, actually getting it.

“Before we answer the question what are we supposed to do about this meth thing, we really have to think about who we think gay men are. If you think gay men are pools of deficits, then crystal makes complete sense. On the other hand, if you think that gay men need to keep a squeaky-clean image, then anybody who picks up a meth pipe starts to be the deviant who’s making the rest of us look bad, and we need to shove him back into his hole. That’s what’s happening.”

According to Kingston, the worst drug to hit communities worldwide – gay or straight – is actually alcohol. Paul Dillon, formerly from NDARC and now with Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia, agrees wholeheartedly. “Alcohol continues to be the number one problem – it has been for a long time, it always will be. But no-one wants to deal with that because it’s at the heart of our community. If that went, what would happen? It’s not so much about gay culture, but more about Australian culture – it’s very hard to beat.”

After years of working in field of drug and alcohol, Dillon says that he’s often gotten upset by people making generalisations based on people who live in the ghetto. “There are many gay couples who live in the suburbs who would never even think about going to Oxford Street, or to a Mardi Gras. We tend not to talk about them and I think that’s quite sad,” says Dillon. “We have to be careful not to reinforce stereotypes. Absolutely there are people who have drug and alcohol problems in our community. But you have to put it into a context – we live in a society and society in general has a bit of a problem, truth be known.”

Dillon says that the gay community is often the group researchers target when they want information on current trends, because we’re usually more honest and as a community, we’re often at the forefront of trends. “This is why we know a lot more about drug use within the gay community than we do about other communities. One of the greatest problems with getting any information about gay men in particular, is where do you access these people from? If you look at much of the data that’s collected around gay men and drug use, it’s not taken across the general population, often it’s done through sex on premises venues, nightclubs, special events. Are you getting a wide cross section of people there? Perhaps not.”

At the end of the day, it’s about recognising that the ‘ice epidemic’ looks less like a plague, and more like a small group who have been affected in a big way. “If you look at the research use is going down, it’s peaked here and sure it’s caused all sorts of significant problems, but is it going to turn everyone into the Incredible Hulk? No, it’s not.”

What do you think? Where do we draw the line between fact and fiction? Are we as party and drug obsessed as people think? Have your say in the forums.

Comments

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tarakel

said ages ago

People close to the crystal meth issue know that there's only
one site that ever covered the topic in a balanced, intelligent
way and that's All Positive Options. They are light-years
ahead on this issue, and addiction and recovery in general.

shaynesydney

said ages ago

A Herald investigation, "Missing Link to Crime Revealed" found
a clear pattern of linkage between methamphetamine use and
violent crimes which had been absent from official statistics.
"SOME of the most brutal murders and assaults of the past five
years h

shaynesydney

said ages ago

...have been committed under the influence of
methamphetamine..." The article lists murders, gang rapes, club
shooting etc., all committed while the offenders were under the
influence of 'ice'. The report goes on to fault the research by
local academics l

shaynesydney

said ages ago

...local academics like Dr Rebecca McKetin. I am not impressed
by academics who can only understand theoretically those for
whom they advocate. Thjere is no doubt that ice is
pharmacologically unique, proven to be more addictive than any
other drug a

shaynesydney

said ages ago

and linked inextricably to psychosis, violence and HIV. And
Susan Kingston sounds a little confused..... "She also pointed
out that poppers are far more abused in the gay community than
meth and are just as frequently associated with unprotected
sex: “

shaynesydney

said ages ago

I am not aware of popper psychosis, or that it is addictive,
or that it is behind the kind of bizarre acts where children
are savagely beaten, raped and strangled in Perth shopping
arcade toilets etc. Actually the worst drug to be abused in the
gay commu

shaynesydney

said ages ago

is tobacco, but comparing it to meth would also be pointless.

Urban

said ages ago

Queer academics and their opinions on meth have proven to be
completely out of touch with reality. Kingston is in no
personal position to comment about what gay men do – she
ain’t one herself so is coming purely from textbookland. Most
academic analys

Urban

said ages ago

of gay meth abuse patterns is seriously flawed. True,
Dillon’s comments about alcohol being a more widespread
problem, but then this approach merely digresses from the
problem that meth itself is – there’s always something more
widespread than some

Urban

said ages ago

something else but comparing apples and pears does zero except
run away from talking about the price of apples. Both
Kingston’s comparison with amyl (‘poppers’) and
Dillon’s equivalent comparison with alcohol are a tad
unthought through: neither

Urban

said ages ago

alcohol nor poppers sends people on fortnight long sleep-free
sexathons. Poppers has no addictive side nor does it last
longer than a few seconds per hit. I haven’t heard of anyone
losing their jobs, or becoming dysfunctional in any other
similar way, f

Urban

said ages ago

from poppers, or of a proven necessity for a global 12 step
Poppers Anonymous movement. Meth may not be about to turn
anyone into the ‘Incredible Hulk’ to use Dillion’s words,
but it sure has the potential to turn them into the Grim
Reaper.

Urban

said ages ago

Huge amounts of resource has been invested globally by
academics out to clear meth’s name, but most of those
commentators are attached to the AIDS industry. If it fessed up
to the severity of the issue it would have to do more to
address it.

DanM82

said ages ago

Unfortunately, I'd have to agree that a lot of gays do a lot of
drugs. I've work in clubs since I was 18 abd have seen a lot of
usage. Gays are addictive personalities. Explains the addiction
to promiscuous behaviour.

DanM82

said ages ago

It appears to be that gays have a mindset that they are
different and so will behave different. This includes break
social norms like drug usage and safer sex. It's something that
needs to be addressed.

DanM82

said ages ago

We are now in an ice age and there's no cute saber tooth
squirrels merrily bouncing across the plains. Meth can cause
damage, even if used just a little. Party safe, drive safe and
fuck safe.

shaynesydney

said ages ago

The myth that 'gay men can handle their drugs' was, by and
large, true - until meth came along. This attitude of not
wanting to demonise the drug or alienate users has
inadvertently enable many to play with tina and become
dependent. In 12 step groups it'

shaynesydney

said ages ago

it's known as 'harm maintenance. One of the rights gay men are
entitled to is HONEST information about their recreational
drugs so that they may make an informed decision.

angy

said ages ago

Kickass story Christian! :)

mistrydip

said ages ago

This article from Herald a couple of days ago is worth a read.
It presents a logical argument about crystal rather than
promoting the hysteria that has been so common place in recent
articles dealing with this subject matter. The link to this is
belw

mistrydip

said ages ago

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/putting-cause-and-effect-on-
ice-to-work-on-solutions/2007/07/09/1183833427781.html

shaynesydney

said ages ago

The author of that report, Rebecca McKetin, is the same aithor
whose 'research' was ridiculed in the Herald investigation and
by the police commissioner. The article is also vaguely
ridiculous. For example, sure ice has been around for a long
time, but no

shaynesydney

said ages ago

not in the purity (80-90% base on the streets of the Cross
right now) which is why it is now such a danger. The author of
that report, Rebecca McKetin, is the same aithor whose
'research' was ridiculed in the Herald investigation and by the
police commiss

shaynesydney

said ages ago

commissoner is of the school that labelled ice 'just another
party drug,' 'just a useful scapegoat', 'just the flavour of
the month.' These 'academics should sit in on a meeting of CMA
to get the true story.

Urban

said ages ago

What on earth is Rebecca McKetin getting at now? “Some
people are predisposed to react to situations in a hostile
manner. Ice users who are violent may be aggressive and
antisocial to begin with.” If Mcketein has an ounce of hard
evidence that peop

Urban

said ages ago

ctd...people NOT also using alcohol and NOT predisposed to
aggression are NOT at risk of becoming aggressive and violent,
let’s hear it. We’ll hear nothing because she hasn’nt an
ounce of such evidence.

Urban

said ages ago

When she adds, “Violence among drug users can also have
something to do with their involvement in buying or selling
drugs. The violence may be related to a dispute over a drug
deal rather than any pharmacological effect of the
substance,” she is then

Urban

said ages ago

assuming that all users becoming violent are also traders –
what utter nonsense! She hasn’t a scrap of evidence to show
that aggressive ice users are dealers. This woman is a walking
talking self-contradiction. Her comments to media have
included:

Urban

said ages ago

“Almost 1 in 4 of our regular methamphetamine users in our
survey had a symptom of psychosis in the past year ... About a
quarter of the people who get the psychosis are quite
aggressive and they will break furniture, yell at people and,
in some cases,

Urban

said ages ago

might even assault people.” (The 7.30 Report: Crystal Meth
Addiction On The Rise 02/05/2006); and: “However, it does
appear that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the
drug does increase the propensity for people to be violent in
certain c

Urban

said ages ago

circumstances,” Commenting on the joint NDARC and NSW Bureau
of Crime Statistics and Research report, which did not find a
'causal link' between methamphetamine use and violence -
despite showing meth arrests to have jumped by 250 percent in
the last 10

Urban

said ages ago

years. “This is most likely to occur in chronic users of the
drug, or particularly when chronic users are experiencing
drug-induced psychosis.” Crystal Arrests Up 250 Percent,
Sydney Star Observer19/10/2006).

Urban

said ages ago

She is now suggesting that such a small percentage of
Australians are affected in this way that it is
‘fortunate’: “Fortunately, the risk of ice-related
violence appears to be limited to heavy or chronic users of the
drug, and only an estimated 0.7

Urban

said ages ago

per cent of Australians aged 15 to 49 years fit into this
category.” Hasn’t she got a calculator handy to see just
how many violent maniacs that makes running around our streets?
I’d say that’s 0.7 per cent too many of our 15 to 49
year-olds.

Urban

said ages ago

Her next point is that: “The process of getting someone
experiencing a psychosis into an ambulance or police vehicle to
take them to hospital is very difficult because it involves
handling the person and placing them in an enclosed space. This
environme

Urban

said ages ago

environment can be very threatening to someone who is paranoid
and can trigger or intensify violent behaviour. The chemical
sedation and physical restraint sometimes applied to people
with ice psychosis is so severe that 24-hour supervision is
required. T

Urban

said ages ago

ctd...These procedures can also be traumatic and potentially
lethal for the patient, so there is a need to weigh the risks
of restraint and sedation with the potential harm if the person
is left in the community.” What? Is she seriously suggesting
we HA

Urban

said ages ago

HAVE an option to leave these dangerous people out there? She
has completely missed the point when she says, “Drug
treatment appears to be promising for reducing hostility among
ice users,” when such treatemnt is a contemplated, long term
decision ma

Urban

said ages ago

made in the context of rehabilitation, NOT on the spot in a
violent incident whilst intoxicated.

shaynesydney

said ages ago

Yeah, well, I put Ms. McKetin in the same fuckwit basket as all
those other 'experts' like acon, who don't seem to know their
arse from their elbow. I've experienced addiction first hand
and facilitated 12 steps groups for a couple of years, so I
know tha

shaynesydney

said ages ago

... that these purveyors of dangerous misinformation barely
parallel the real world.

jimjazz

said ages ago

another class article christian...great to see some sane,
balanced reporting rather than the hysteria...

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Christian Taylor

Christian Taylor joined us ages ago.

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