LGBT Drug Treatment Blog

Taking just one or two ecstasy pills could cause long-lasting brain damage and lead to depression, scientists have warned.

A team of British psychologists found that people who had tried ecstasy only a few times had depression levels four times higher than those who had taken a range of other drugs, but not ecstasy.

Although they did not qualify as clinically depressed, they were left susceptible to problems triggered by stress or emotional turbulence, the findings found.

Researcher Lynn Taurah, from the London Metropolitan University, said: “People often think taking ecstasy just once or twice won’t matter, but we’re seeing evidence that if you take ecstasy a couple of times you do damage to your brain that later in life will make you more vulnerable. Many of these people are working professionals, and you can imagine if they have a problem or a bit of stress in their life their depression levels could go up. Taking ecstasy is really not a good idea.”

Ms Taurah said the findings supported evidence from animal studies suggesting that even small doses of ecstasy destroyed brain neurons that produced the chemical messenger serotonin, which is closely linked to mood.

However, Paul Dillon, information manager at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, said the findings were “alarmist and misleading”.

“It’s important to note that the animal studies and psychological studies are separate,” he said. “It’s still a leap to say one or two ecstasy pills causes long-term brain damage. A link between human use and brain damage has yet to be established.”

Mr Dillon said findings that linked ecstasy use to depression are inconclusive as “many people who take the drug already have a predisposition to depression”.

He said research should be conducted as to why the “drug is taken in the first place”.

The researchers, who presented their findings to the British Psychological Society at the weekend, studied 519 volunteers. These included some who were current or past ecstasy users and others who had either never taken drugs or taken several drugs other than ecstasy, including alcohol and cannabis.

They were also broken down into those who had used the drug more or less than 20 times. Participants in the study were given a standard psychological questionnaire designed to discover to what extent they suffered from depression.The results produced scores which once they passed the figure of 25 indicated that they were clinically depressed.

If you are looking for a drug rehab or alcohol rehab which provides effective addiction treatment and is a gay friendly drug rehab, go to www.gay-rehab.com or call 1-800-511-9225, a national helpline which will help you locate a quality drug rehab in your area.

Cocaine and ecstasy not only cause addiction and raise the risk of cancer but also provoke genetic mutations, Italian scientists said today.

“Cocaine and ecstasy have proved to be more dangerous than we had imagined,” said Giorgio Bronzetti, chief scientist at the National Centre for Research’s (CNR) biotechnology department. “These drugs, on top of their toxicological effects, attack DNA, provoking mutations and altering the hereditary material. This is very worrying for the effects it could have on future generations.”

The use of ecstasy, a drug popular at all-night dance parties, increased by 70 per cent between 1995 and 2000 according to a United Nations report published in September. Ecstasy and amphetamines have overtaken cocaine and heroin as the fastest growing global narcotics menace, the study said.

The CNR report, which took more than three years to complete, said animal tests had shown a direct relationship between ecstasy and cocaine intake and the effects on DNA. “In other words, the longer the time frame of drug consumption, the greater the damage to DNA,” Bronzetti said.

If you are looking for a gay friendly drug rehab for the treatment of cocaine addiction go to www.gay-rehab.com

Loretz hit no one, Minnesota attorney says

St. Paul, Minnesota police Sgt. Jon Loretz broke his silence through his attorney Tuesday by declaring his innocence in connection with a weekend bar brawl in St. Paul that left at least two women injured.

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” attorney Kevin Short said. “He and his friends were assaulted by bar patrons.”

Short said Loretz, the son of St. Paul, Minnesota Police Chief William Finney, was not intoxicated, did not have a gun and did not hit anyone with a beer bottle during the fight.

“While he had a couple of beers, he was not intoxicated in the slightest,” Short said. “All these facts will be borne out.”

Loretz, 34, is under investigation for assault by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) for his alleged involvement in a fight early Sunday morning at Lucy’s Saloon.

Sgt. Jon LoretzSeveral people at the gay-friendly bar claim Loretz struck several women on the dance floor and yelled homophobic remarks.

Minnesota people in the bar at the time also say that Loretz tried to use his authority as a police officer to threaten patrons and employees.

The charges that Loretz could face range from felony assault and committing hate crimes to obstruction of the legal process. He also could lose his peace officer’s license, say law enforcement officials.

“We’re not going to turn a blind eye to anything,” said Tim O’Malley, assistant superintendent of the BCA. “We will gather information and then present it to a prosecutor.

On Tuesday, police released edited copies of Loretz’s personnel file, which spans his eight years on the force.

The file included 15 thank-you letters and letters of recognition, and a record of an oral reprimand from Finney for being in a preventable car accident. The most serious disciplinary action taken against Loretz was a three-day suspension for using excessive force in 1999.

That incident involved a drug bust in which a 17-year-old boy’s tooth was chipped when Loretz wrestled him to the ground.

Of the seven internal affairs complaints lodged against Loretz, the excessive force complaint was the only one sustained.

“When you do a lot of drug busts sometimes complaints are made against you,” Short said. “That has no relationship to these accusations.”

Hate crime alleged

The most serious allegations from the weekend bar fight involve assault. One woman claims Loretz broke a beer bottle over her head. Others say the 6 foot 5, 250-pound officer punched them.

The potential assault charges could be augmented because some of the accusers and witnesses claim Loretz called them derogatory sexual names during the fight, which could make the incidents hate crimes.

“OutFront Minnesota is definitely aware of the incident at Lucy’s,” said Phil Duran, legal director of OutFront Minnesota, the state’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) advocacy group.

“We are in the process of gathering information. If the allegations are true that an off-duty police officer physically assaulted people while using comments that suggested that part of his motivation for doing so was his contempt for their sexual orientation, OutFront Minnesota, and the entire GLBT, gay, lesbian, bisexual community, has reason to be concerned.”

During the fight, witnesses said Loretz identified himself as a police officer, continued fighting, and threatened to use the powers of his office to close down Lucy’s. Those allegations could lead to charges of misconduct by a public official, officials said.

When St. Paul, Minnesota police arrived at the scene shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday, the fight had spilled outside. Several bar employees and witnesses say Loretz ordered the arriving officers to round up people and move them back inside, then he left the scene in the confusion.

Some of the women involved in the fight have said Loretz received special consideration from officers at the scene, and the women have expressed doubt that he will be held accountable because of his family ties. Loretz, who was given up for adoption as an infant and raised in Wabasha, Minn., is Finney’s biological son. Finney’s wife, Linda, is an agent with the BCA, but she is not involved in the investigation.

At a news conference Monday, Finney said that investigators would look into whether Loretz was drinking at the bar. No breath or blood tests were administered to check for alcohol and drugs in Loretz’s system that night because he left the scene and did not check in with superiors for three hours.

After-the-fact tests are done only if there is a belief that evidence of intoxication or a crime still exists, O’Malley said.

Other inquiries

Apart from the possible criminal charges there are also internal department investigations coming from St. Paul police. There also might be a review by the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, which could pull his license.

“Any felony conviction is an automatic revocation,” said Neil Melton, executive director of the Peace Officer board. “Any gross misdemeanor conviction is handled on a case-by-case basis.”

Melton said that any officer accused of a crime is required to notify the board “if they have been charged with anything.” The board oversees about 9,500 licensed officers in Minnesota.

Melton said the board handles 12 to 15 such cases a year, with an average of two licenses revoked per year and about four suspensions issued.

In particular, the BCA is looking at whether Loretz had a gun, and if he did, whether he threatened patrons with it.

Several witnesses told investigators that once outside the bar Loretz reached for his pants leg as if he had a gun. An armed security guard passing by the bar stopped and reportedly kept the situation from escalating, witnesses said.

The BCA located the security guard Tuesday and expects to interview him soon, O’Malley said.

Loretz’s attorney maintains his client never had a gun.

“He did not possess a firearm inside or outside the bar,” Short said.

The BCA questioning has upset some of the witnesses, said LaTonya Noble, bar manager at Lucy’s. She and several witnesses plan to hold a news conference today to voice their displeasure.

“They have been asking us misleading questions like we were in the wrong,” Noble said. “They’ve asked whether we threw bottles at him or whether we had knives, but nothing about the officer’s actions.”

If you are looking for a gay friendly alcohol rehab program or gay friendly drug addiction treatment program, go to www.gay-rehab.com.

Gay Sex Dddiction Definitions

So how might you tell if your compulsive sexual behavior is really a problem? The basic definition is as follows:

You may be a gay sex addict if you are engaging in one or more repetitive sexual behaviors which interfere with healthy living and result in significant stress to both you and your partner or other family members. Or see if you can answer yes to more than one of the following questions:

- As a recovering addict, have you been unable to remain sober from drugs and alcohol related to your sexual behaviors or romantic entanglements?

- Do you spend long hours on the computer downloading pornographic websites or interacting in chat rooms while neglecting your job and family?

- Do you experience extreme anxiety or panic responses related to sexual behavior?

- Have you ever risked your right to practice as a professional due to your sexual behavior?

- Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?

- Do you have shameful sexual secrets you tell no one about?

- Have you made repeated attempts in therapy or support groups to control your sexual behavior, only to find yourself stuck in self-destructive patterns?

- Do you feel extremely depressed or hopeless because of efforts to break away from a pattern of compulsive romantic relationships?

- Have you ever exposed yourself in public, or engaged in a pattern of secretly looking in people’s windows?

- Have you ever been so obsessed with a person that you found yourself committing stalking behaviors?

If you feel you need help with your sex addiction, drug addiction or alcohol addiction, go to www.gay-rehab.com or call 1-800-511-9225 for a referral to a gay friendly addiction treatment program or gay friendly drug rehab in your area.

Over time, this yo-yoing may cause your brain to quit restocking its own serotonin and dopamine. Your brain starts to think, “Why waste time building these chemicals when the next hit of speed will do it for me.” This triggers a drug craving and you may be off getting high again. Over time, however, your serotonin and dopamine levels may drop well below their normal level and stay there. This is why many crystal meth users become unable to experience feelings of happiness, satisfaction or enjoyment without crystal. The more crystal meth and the longer you use, the longer it may take for your mood chemistry to stabilize at high enough levels.

In addition, current brain research has shown that consistent use of crystal over a long period of time can cause significant and permanent damage to nerve endings that help regulate certain brain chemicals and functions. The hard questions to answer, however, are just how much crystal meth does a person have to use and for how long before this damage occurs? These answers are still unclear and are likely to vary between users.

If you are looking for a drug rehab or addiction treatment program able to treat crystal meth addiction in your area go to  www.recoveryconnection.org. If you are looking for a gay friendly drug rehab try www.gay-rehab.com.  

There is a misconception among health care providers and women themselves that lesbian and bisexual women have little or no risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STD). This myth is fueled by the lack of reliable studies of STD transmission in these communities.

In fact, the risk of STD transmission between gay women varies significantly depending on the STD. Herpes, HPV (genital wart virus), and bacterial vaginosis are transmitted fairly easily between gay women during sex. HIV, hepatitis B, gonorrhea, and chlamydia are much less likely to be transmitted–the risk is low but it is still possible.

The majority of lesbian and bisexual women have (or have had) sex with men, and all STDs are easily transmitted from men to women during intercourse. Often STD do not have symptoms, so it is possible for a woman to have become infected years ago and to still harbor the infection.

It is important that you share your particular sexual history with a GLBT-gay friendly health care provider who can advise you of the appropriate STD screening tests for you. All women, including lesbian and bisexual women, need to receive regular Pap tests.

HIV

Often people worry more about HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) than about any other STD. HIV is transmitted when infected sexual fluids or blood enter another person’s bloodstream.

There are little research specifically concerning woman-to-woman transmission of HIV. It has been documented in several studies that women who have had sex only with other women, and have not used intravenous drugs, are at low risk for HIV. Although there are case reports of woman-to-woman transmission through oral sex or shared sex toys, this is an uncommon transmission route. The risk of exposure to HIV in menstrual blood is not known, but could provide another means of transmission between women.

Women who have had sexual contact with men, which includes the majority of women who identify as lesbian, have a higher risk for HIV. Women who have had unprotected sex with gay or bisexual men, or men who have injected drugs, are at an especially high risk.

Herpes and HPV

Genital herpes and the human papillomavirus (HPV) are more likely to be transmitted between women than HIV is because they can be transmitted by skin-to-skin, genital-to-genital, or mouth-to-genital contact.

In addition, because these viruses are not curable and stay in the body, a woman could acquire herpes or HPV from a male partner and later pass it on to a female partner. Case studies and recent research support this possibility. As HPV can lead to cervical cancer, lesbians and bisexual women need Pap tests on a regular basis, just as heterosexual women do.

If you are looking for addiction traetment in a gay friendly rehab go to www.gay-rehab.com or call 1-800-511-9225

It’s difficult to be gay in a straight world, so it’s no wonder that so many individuals who deem themselves to be gay or are uncertain about their sexuality search for counselors that offer gay and lesbian therapy.
Great care should be taken in locating a licensed therapist who specializes in gay therapy. Beware of therapists who may attempt to “cure” or even “convert” you. Those individuals have their own agenda.

Also be sure that your chosen therapist is well-versed on issues confronting the gay community and isn’t afraid to talk about sexual issues. It’s best to contact local or regional organizations concerned with gay issues to find a reputable counselor for your needs.

Therapy for the gay and lesbian population should consist of a number of factors and how you’re counseled may depend on where you stand as far as accepting your sexuality. A good counselor will determine that before proceeding.

Most gay and lesbian therapy centers on the widely-accepted six stages of homosexuality: 1) identity awareness – feelings that you are different from others or from what you’ve been taught; 2) identity comparison – not understanding why your feelings are different from those of your parents, friends, siblings, etc; 3) identity tolerance – rebelling against homosexual feelings; 4) identity acceptance – embracing your sexuality and what goes with it; 5) identity pride – anger toward parents, society, religion or others who refuse to accept your homosexuality; and 6) identity synthesis – when homosexuality becomes a part of who you are, not the defining factor for your life.

Certified therapists should also be prepared and able to discuss and treat mood disorders, not unlike those of the heterosexual population, including depression, anxiety, stress, and sexual issues. Statistics show that the rate of depression is much higher among the homosexual population and that thoughts of suicide are not uncommon.

Gay and lesbian therapy can also assist clients in “coming out” to friends, family, and co-workers and deal with the emotional and practical questions and challenges that arise at that time. Therapists will also attempt to eliminate feelings of fear and being alone and teach clients how to develop healthy homosexual relationships.

If you are looking for a gay friendly drug rehab or gay friendly alcohol rehab, go to www.gay-rehab.com or call 1-800-511-9225.

 Crystal meth amphetamine is a highly addictive central nervous system stimulant that can be injected, snorted, smoked, or ingested orally. Crystal Meth amphetamine users feel a short yet intense “rush” when the drug is initially administered. The effects of crystal meth amphetamine include increased activity, decreased appetite, and a sense of well being that can last from 20 minutes to 12 hours. The drug has limited medical uses for the treatment of narcolepsy, attention deficit disorders, and obesity.¹Most amphetamines distributed to the black market are produced in clandestine laboratories. Methamphetamine laboratories are, by far, the most frequently encountered clandestine laboratories in the United States. The ease of clandestine synthesis, combined with tremendous profits, has resulted in significant availability of illicit methamphetamine. Large amounts of methamphetamine are also illicitly smuggled into the United States from Mexico.²

If you are looking for a drug rehab or gay friendly drug rehab for the treatment of crystal meth or amphetamine addiction go to www.gay-rehab.com or call 1-800-511-9225.

Crystal Methamphetamine

Crystal methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant drug that strongly activates certain systems in the brain. Crystal meth closely related chemically to amphetamine, but the central nervous system effects of methamphetamine are greater. Both drugs have some medical uses, primarily in the treatment of obesity, but their therapeutic use is limited. Street methamphetamine is referred to by many names, such as “speed,” “meth,” and “chalk.” Methamphetamine hydrochloride, clear chunky crystals resembling ice, which can be inhaled by smoking, is referred to as “ice,” “crystal,” and “glass.”

Health Hazards

Neurological hazards. Methamphetamine releases high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which stimulates brain cells, enhancing mood and body movement. It also appears to have a neurotoxic effect, damaging brain cells that contain dopamine and serotonin, another neurotransmitter. Over time, methamphetamine appears to cause reduced levels of dopamine, which can result in symptoms like those of Parkinson’s disease, a severe movement disorder.

Addiction. Methamphetamine is taken orally or intranasally (snorting the powder), by intravenous injection, and by smoking. Immediately after smoking or intravenous injection, the methamphetamine user experiences an intense sensation, called a “rush” or “flash,” that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Oral or intranasal use produces euphoria - a high, but not a rush. Users may become addicted quickly, and use it with increasing frequency and in increasing doses.

Short-term effects. The central nervous system (CNS) actions that result from taking even small amounts of methamphetamine include increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, hyperthermia, and euphoria. Other CNS effects include irritability, insomnia, confusion, tremors, convulsions, anxiety, paranoia, and aggressiveness. Hyperthermia and convulsions can result in death.

Long-term effects. Methamphetamine causes increased heart rate and blood pressure and can cause irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain, producing strokes. Other effects of methamphetamine include respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat, and extreme anorexia. Its use can result in cardiovascular collapse and death.