Young gay men are much more like-ly than straight men to take drugs, including ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana, according to two studies in Britain and America.
Nearly one-third of men surveyed in the US who had sex with other men said they used drugs at least once a week, and lifetime use of cocaine was nearly twice as high as that of the general age group. Two out of three of the men said that they had used drugs in the previous six months.
The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, included 3,492 young men aged between 15 and 22.
"The people that we spoke to were in an environment that was surrounded by drugs," said Linda Valleroy, an epidemiologist and one of the report's authors. "There were synchronized epidemics of HIV, drug use and depressive behavior."
New research by the mental health charity Mind showed that the trend is replicated in Britain with drug use consistently higher among gay men and lesbian women.
"The gay scene is bar and club orientated," said Monty Moncrieff, project co-ordinator at Antidote, a drugs service for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. "That is where people go to meet other gay people and there is a lot of cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and GHB around. It is a hedonistic culture and often the lifestyle and recreational drug use go hand in hand."
Jason, 23, is a gay man living in London who spends most of his weekends partying. On Saturday nights he dances until the early hours among a throng of sweaty bodies and then carries on till the afternoon at one of the city's trendy after-club parties.
He is usually in a haze of euphoria slipping between the highs of ecstasy and cocaine, the surreal nature of ketamine and the lull of marijuana. "We'll do it again on Sunday," he says. "The weekend isn't over until well into Monday."
"It is still a hangover from the ecstasy house music boom which did to some extent start in the gay clubs of London," says David Smith, a senior health promotion officer for gay men.
"It may be because their social life is a very important part of identity -- certainly compared to heterosexuals. Gay men also continue to take drugs for much longer than heterosexuals, long after others have chosen to settle down with a family."
But while much of the drug use is club-related, with recreational drugs being taken as a lifestyle choice, there are concerns that drug use among gay men can be a form of escapism from difficult lives.
"Many people may feel repressed in everyday life," said Moncrieff. "They may have to hide their sexuality in the week."
The study by Mind shows that gay, lesbian and bisexual people are more likely to suffer psychological stress than straight people, with gay men 13 percent more likely to harm themselves and lesbians 6 percent more likely.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number