LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMPsafe Summer 2000 |
by Salvatore Seeley |
So, you think it's not in our backyard? Guess again! Let's take a moment to play out a scene in our mind (re-sharpen those daydreaming skills we all learned in college). Let's meet our two studs for the evening, Chris and John. They're getting ready to go outto dinner or a movie, and a stop at the local gay hangout to dance. We read their minds and learn that each hopes to meet the man of his dreams, or, at the very least, to have good sex. Chris and Johnbeing good homosexualstake their time making sure they look their best. Hair is great; body looks good; teeth are brushed; clothes are happening. Standing at the bar, each feels a bit inhibited by the action going on around them. If only they had something to help break that condition. Hmmm...what they need is something that will help them feel free and loose. Both know how easy it is to solve that problem, in fact, they've done this before. Let's see what their choices are tonight: K (Ketamine for those out of body, trippy experiences), E (Ecstasy for a feeling of being alive, warm, confident and loving and rushy), G (Gamma-Hydroxy-butytrate for a 24 hour trip) and alcohol (disinhibition and increased sociability). One of them or a combination should get them through the night. It's easy to get, won't cost muchand nobody will tell them they shouldn't. So, the question I ask you: Where did we find Chris and John? Philadelphia? Baltimore? Washington, D.C? No. Chris and John are right here in Rehoboth. According to several men that I have talked to, club drugs have settled in to our little slice of heaven, too. It's unfortunate but where many gay men gather, two words almost beg to be said together: drugs and sex. Not surprisingly, since for many gay men they are two parts of the same experience. The arenas in which people take drugs are often the places where we find sexual partners (and sometimes where we actually have sex). The drugs listed above, and others, can play a part in our identity and sex lives. Whether it's a drink to loosen you up and give you the courage to chat with the guy you've been cruising, ecstasy to make you feel confident and alive, or a snort of poppers to send the blood rushing to where it's needed most, few of us can say we haven't mixed sex and drugs or alcohol at some point. Until about 1980 the major risk to gay men taking drugs and having sex was the risk from the drugs themselves. What has changed for gay men in the past two decades is the emergence of HIV. If you're flying higher than a 747, you're not going to think about a condom. According to a report by the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, "Indiscriminate use of club drugs appears to be the highest among gay and bisexual males in the LGBT population." Men using club drugs find safer sex and using condoms more difficult when they're intoxicated, exposing them to a risk they might not otherwise have taken. Also, many people use drugs to get something more out of sex. Sometimes people want to have anal sex without condoms and will use drugs to make them feel more comfortable about it, mentally and physically. The risks of getting infected with HIV when we are zoned out on club drugs are much higher especially when we look at anal and oral health. Now, if you've been taking drugs like ecstasy, speed, or alcohol, and have been dancing all night in a sweaty club, chances are you'll be dehydrated. This dehydration dries up the natural lubricant in your butt. Not only that, but because your body temperature is raised the tissue on your cock and up your butt is potentially more delicate. There are cases of internal tearing and bleeding and even people 'breaking' their cocks while shagging too hard. Both of these physical changes to your body might make these abrasions more likely, providing a route for passing on or getting an STD, including HIV. What you need to be mindful of, though, is that loss of sensitivity might mean that you are doing damage to yourself and/or others that you don't realize or intend. Stimulants like ecstasy and speed tend to make people clench their jaws and want to chew something, such as gum. In so doing, it's possible to bite the delicate skin in your mouth, without realizing that you are causing cuts and grazes in your mouth. Again this could increase the risk from HIV and other STD's during oral sex. It should be emphasized that these risks are potential. To help protect against HIV and other STD's, it seems common sense to avoid having unprotected oral sex within, say, an hour of having taken drugs by dabbing or rubbing them in your mouth or from when you last chewed gum. This will give any cuts and grazes a chance to heal. If you can't wait that long a condom or dental dam might be a safer way to give head. Failing that, not getting cum in your mouth will reduce the risk too. These two aspects just touch on the issues and risks of drugs and sex. What does it mean? Should we commit to a life of denial and abstinence? No, we should equip ourselves with information and take steps to reduce the risks to our and others' health. It might require that you take a step back to see whether you're in control of your drug and alcohol use, or whether it's taking control of you. Let's see how Chris and John made out (no pun intended). Chris woke up at home in his own bed alone, coming off his high. However, John woke up in an unfamiliar place next to someone he slightly remembered meeting. Running through his mind are the thoughts, "I passed out and left it up to him to be safe. Did he use condoms and not try to do something to me that I would be unable to object to?" Chris will ponder this drug trip for several months, if not the rest of his life. Sadly, I didn't have to make this up. I can't imagine one feels really good if it takes drugs to have a good time and more to have sex. It makes me angry that my gay brothers have taken on the homophobia and anti-sexuality ideals from the mainstream culture, and feel badly enough about themselves that they feel they have to go out and take drugs. For more on club drugs and safe sex visit: www.glma.org. NEWS from CAMPsafe SAFE-TEA DANCE: Thanks to everyone who came out to support our first Safe-Tea dance of the season at Cloud 9 on June 11. A special thanks to Cloud 9 General Manager Randy Overbaugh, and to our two celebrity chefs, the Double L Bar's John Meng and Andrew Criss. The next Safe-Tea dance will be at the Blue Moon on Sunday, July 9th, from 5 - 8 p.m. I'll tell you more about the theme of the Blue Moon Safe-Tea dance in upcoming "NEWS from CAMPsafe." Meanwhile, we are still in need of volunteers to make these events run smoothly. If you are interested in helping, give me a call at CAMP Rehoboth, 227-5620. SPEAKER'S BUREAU: We are proud to announce the creation of the CAMPsafe Speaker's Bureau. If anyone is in need of someone to speak on HIV prevention, disease progression, HIV testing and counseling, or safer sex workshops, please contact me at SalvatoreSeeley@aol.com. MEN WANTED for free lunch! Join us for our CAMPsafe focus groups this year. Join 8 to 10 other men in a forum setting to talk about issues that are important to gay men. The information collected will enable us to apply for grants to broaden CAMPsafe programs, and help identify areas of interest for other programs for gay men. The first focus group will be held on July 9th at 11:00 a.m. at a location still to be determined. If you are interested in participating, or if you would like further information, call Sal Seeley at CAMP Rehoboth, 302-227-5620. Salvatore Seeley is the CAMPsafe Program Director. You can reach him at SalvatoreSeeley@aol.com or through CAMP Rehoboth. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 7, June 16, 2000. |