CRYSTAL METH LINKED TO RISING STI RATES

Ottawa Educators Focus On Harm Reduction Strategies

The recent rise in sexually transmitted infection rates among gay men
in Canada and the US has alarmed many health and wellness workers in
the queer community.

Several diseases, such as gonorrhea, syphilis and even HIV, have
experienced recent spikes in their infection rates.

And while most health professionals agree that there are several
factors behind the rise, one commonality among many new infections -
particularly among men who have recently tested positive for HIV - is
crystal meth.

Several US studies have linked the amphetamine to 30 to 40 percent of
new HIV infections among gay men. A Jan 19 article in the Los Angeles
Times cites a recent report by San Francisco's Stop AIDS Project,
which found one-fifth of gay and bisexual men surveyed had used
crystal meth in the last six months, while a third of those who had
recently tested positive for HIV had used it in the previous six months.

According to Lynne Belle-Isle of the Canadian AIDS Society - who has
extensively researched the drug and its use among gay men - due to the
links made between crystal meth use and significant increases in HIV
infection rates in many US cities, crystal meth has been identified as
"an emerging issue" within the Canadian AIDS community.

"We started looking into how much of an issue is this in Canada. And
we discovered that it has emerged in Vancouver, Toronto and a little
bit in Montreal," says Belle-Isle. "So we are trying to be proactive
and to get as much information out to the communities to hopefully
prevent this from happening in Canada."

Belle-Isle says recent reports indicate increasing numbers of gay men
in Canadian cities are using crystal meth (also called Tina) while
engaging in high-risk sexual behaviours. And although several other
party drugs are much more widely used within Canada's gay community
than crystal meth, the fact that it has begun to show up in the
bathhouses and circuit parties in many parts of the country is a concern.

"And this is something that has been reported to me from people who go
to these places, this isn't just us fear-mongering," says Belle-Isle
of the awareness work CAS has begun regarding the drug. "We're totally
not anti-fun. In fact, we're all about harm reduction when it comes to
any kind of drug use: Be careful, and get the information you need to
be able to make good choices, safe choices."

And while it is a reality that many men safely meld sex, drugs and
rock and roll as "weekend warriors," crystal meth can hardly be
considered a "safe" drug.

Created by cooking up several highly toxic and volatile substances,
batches often contain ether, battery acid, insecticides, solvents and
lye - in addition to its active ingredient, ephedrine, usually
obtained from over-the-counter cold medicines.

But the fact that the drug is cheap, usually selling for between
$10-15 a pop, and gives an intense euphoria that can last anywhere
from to eight to 10 hours at a time, makes it a highly appealing
choice for those who want to get the most bang for their buck.

Unfortunately, the drug is also highly addictive, some say on a
crack-like level, and tends to send users into a psychotic state far
deeper and more frequently than most other street drugs.

Equally worrying, says Belle-Isle, are the sexual rituals that have
developed around the drug, which often rears its ugly head in marathon
multi-partner barebacking sessions.

"It does have a specific, stimulating effect on the sex drive. And it
also seems to make people feel very invincible, fearless, that they
can conquer the world, and all these things come into play," says
Belle-Isle.

During these sessions, users are often unable to sustain an erection,
a phenomenon which has come to be known as "Tina dick." To counter
this, the drug is often coupled with Viagra.

"The reason we're becoming more vocal about crystal meth is really to
get people to think about their health in general - how far are you
willing to go to put your health at risk?" says Belle-Isle.

For local health and wellness officials, however, the more immediate
question is, has it become a problem in Ottawa?

Barry Deeprose, co-chair of the Gay Men's Wellness Initiative, says
crystal meth use among gay men in Ottawa has been difficult to gauge.

"It really is an enigma in this city - we have talked about it at Gay
Men's Wellness, but we just have not been able to get hard evidence,"
says Deeprose. "But I don't know, I can remember in the early '80s,
when we thought that HIV would somehow not come to Ottawa. I really
think it's a false reassurance that it is not here. I just can't
imagine that it won't happen in Ottawa."

Jacques Neron, supervisor of outreach services for Ottawa's Sexual
Health Centre, says while it appears that crystal meth use among
Ottawa's gay community is marginal, it may be due to the fact that
many local men choose to party and play in Montreal.

"It is important for us as a public health agency to look into any
factor contributing to the increasing rate of STIs or HIV. We are
concerned about it in that sense," says Neron. "But we also know that
[between] Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal, that there is a lot of
traffic, and a lot of the raves are happening in Toronto and Montreal,
so we do feel that there is also some information that needs to be
going out."

But according to Sylvain Duguay, the intervention coordinator at
Action Sero Zero in Montreal, "crystal meth use is still marginal in
Montreal's gay community.

"In fact, it is marginal everywhere in Montreal: street youth don't seem to
use it, while it is common among them in other Canadian cities," says
Duguay. "We think it's simply a question of market - bikers may not be
ready to sell it. [Although] we sometimes hear that people [have] brought
crystal in to Montreal from other cities."

After visiting several US cities recently, however, Deeprose is wary
of the drug and the effect it could soon have on Ottawa's local gay
community.

"If it is happening in San Francisco, you can be sure it is happening
in Vancouver. I think that there tends to be a bit of lag, as there
was with HIV, but that lag should not be read as the fact that it is
not coming here," says Deeprose. "I think that it is nothing more than
a delay. A couple of hundred miles are not going to protect us."