LGBT Drug Treatment Blog

Recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism can be a liberating experience, sometimes described as a “second coming out” by gays, lesbians, and transsexuals who have sought help for alcoholism and drug dependence in 12-Step programs. But it is not without a price. For many, the profound challenges of confronting underlying issues of sexual identity and internalized homophobia, in addition to alcoholism and addiction, can be devastating.

Addiction Treatment Workshop 

How best to help recovering gays, lesbians, and transsexuals meet these challenges was the subject of presentations and workshops at the Twelfth Annual Gay and Lesbian Addiction Studies (GLAS) Conference, held on April 18, 1997, at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The conference brought together 130 addiction treatment and drug rehab professionals from the sexually diverse and recovery communities to discuss ways of approaching the problem of widespread alcoholism and substance abuse, estimated to be three times as prevalent among gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals as it is in society as a whole. 

In his keynote address, Michael Picucci, Ph.D., M.A.C., observed that a holistic approach to treating drug addictions and alcoholism among gays, lesbians, and transsexuals is often more beneficial than traditional psychotherapy. “If we are still thinking in terms of transference, counter-transference, and client resistance, we are light-years behind,” Dr. Picucci asserted. “Complete recovery means healing from addictions, both in the primary sense of ceasing to act out, and in the broader sense of seeking fulfilling intimate relationships and the freedom from sexual and other culturally-induced shame.” 

Achieving the goal of complete recovery means facing core problems such as isolation, intimacy, repressed trauma, and cultural pain with the same fearless honesty that is being brought to bear on alcoholism or drug addiction, Dr. Picucci said. 

In the course of the day’s discussions and workshops other members of GLAS agreed that community- and spiritually-based programs, tailored to the needs of sexually diverse individuals and modeled on the 12-Step approach, have been most effective in helping lesbians and gays in recovery address problems that go beyond alcoholism or drug-dependence. Noted Barbara Warren, a member of the GLAS Board of Directors: “In building community, you create opportunities for people to participate and to bring in their own experience, education, and ideas.”

If you are looking for a gay friendly alcohol rehab or a gay drug rehab go to www.gay-rehab or www.lakeviewhealth.com. 

TV star Chad Allen (Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman), is now 30 and single. He’s been out publicly since 2001, and has been a recovering crystal meth addict for four and a half years. He engaged the audience with his tale: “I was 23 years old, after 10 top TV shows, alone in my house in Malibu, pacing the floor with a handgun believing that there were people in the trees outside waiting to get me.” 

“That’s what all the glamour in Hollywood and all the amazing opportunity became: me by myself with a gun, and deciding whether I should live or die,” Allen related. 

“This thing had made me feel so good, at a time when my parents couldn’t look me in the eye, my church didn’t love me, and the network executives wanted to make decisions about my sexuality and wanted me to have a girlfriend… When it turned on me I didn’t know what to do,” Allen concluded. 

“They promise you that when you are sober you will have absolute freedom, and that is true. I go to parties and if I want to dance all night long I do, and I do it as a free person without something owning me,” Allen explained. 

 Dr. Gary Cohen, a Beverly Hills physician, has served over 2,000 patients with HIV, and is a nationally published author on HIV/AIDS wasting syndrome and Lipodystrophy. He told the audience he was 23 when he started in the medical profession specializing in HIV/AIDS. “In the 1980s I was holding people’s hands as they died, then with the miracle in ’96 with the protease inhibitors, it made me think that only my generation was going to get hit by this.”
“I would see a basal rate of one HIV positive case every month, then I started seeing one a week, then a couple per week, and it was all in the context of crystal meth use,” Cohen noted. 

“Crystal meth is a sexual disinihibitor, it affects erectile function, so it makes bottoms out of tops. It affects the immune system and the CD8 Suppressor Cells, drops T-Cells and increases viral load. It trashes brain cells, neurons and the chemicals needed for brain function, and cognitive thinking,” Dr. Cohen explained. 

“HIV positive people on medication have difficulty with their drug adherence schedules, many of which have half-lifes of only one to two days before they become ineffective or the HIV virus becomes resistive,” Dr. Cohen warned. 

“In the 1980s we were in the midst of a gay sexual revolution, and introduced in that was a fatal sexually transmitted disease called AIDS. Here we are 20 + years later, we have introduced a very human addictive destroying drug,” Dr. Cohen noted. 

“Social normative modeling makes things cool to do, or un-cool. People may brand you as a radical right-wing anti-drug person for being anti-Crystal, but who cares. It is the right thing to be. I lost my best friend to Crystal. He’s still alive, but he’s just a shell of his former self,” Dr. Cohen said. 

The gay community has lost an entire generation of mentors and leaders, a segment of the community that we have to work to rebuild and sustain.  Without this group of wise and experienced ‘guidance counselors’, gay men have become scattered and disorganized.  We have turned to AOL and Internet chat rooms to find community and social support, but instead find easy sex, PnP and Bare Back sex, and Meth addiction,”
-Bryan Levinson,(Strength In Numbers)
Los Angeles. 

A full house packed the West Hollywood Auditorium late last year, for a meeting to deal with the Crystal Meth epidemic in the gay community, that has resulted in an phenomenal increase in recent HIV positive cases, reminiscent of the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. 

A panel of celebrity speakers in the entertainment industry as well as HIV services professions, most of whom are either former Crystal Meth addicts and/or HIV positive themselves, shared medical, sociological, as well as legal information on Crystal Meth for the first hour, followed by an hour and one-half of personal experiences from recovering Meth addicts in the audience, most of whom are now HIV positive as well. 

The panel was moderated by West Hollywood Mayor John Duran, who is Latino and HIV positive. He stated he has been in recovery for eight years, although he did not disclose what his addiction(s) were. 

Paul LeKakis had a hit dance track “Boom Boom Boom Let’s Go Back To My Room” which peaked as the AIDS epidemic first hit the U.S. in the early 1980s.  He has been in recovery from drug use and treatment for HIV for the past seven years. He led off the discussion, describing his introduction to Crystal in the gay party boy world: “I was a cocaine baby, I switched to crystal meth because cocaine was not as available as crystal. I didn’t like staying up for days, I didn’t like the feeling it gave me,” he told the audience. 

“Crystal gives you this thirst for sex, but no matter how many sexual encounters you have, your thirst is never quenched,” LeKakis described. 

When he disclosed to sexual partners that he was HIV positive, they would “choose certain sexual positions and practices. I always wonder what it might have been if I hadn’t been HIV positive, or if I hadn’t told them,” he wondered

 Looking for a gay friendly drug rehab or alcohol rehab, go to www.gay-rehab.com or call the national gay friendly drug rehab helpline at 1-800-511-9225.

Alcohol rehab and drug rehab programs offer hope to men and women and their families suffering from the devastating consequences of chemical dependency. Deciding to seek recovery for yourself or someone you care about may be one of the most courageous and life-altering steps you’ll ever take. 

Alcohol rehab and drug rehab centers should offer a variety of addiction treatment programs that can meet individual needs. Drug rehab and alcohol rehab programs may include inpatient addiction treatment, residential addiction treatment, outpatient, and/or short-stay options. While alcohol and drug addiction progress through predictable stages, each individual’s experience has quite personal and unique characteristics. It takes a trained professional, either a physician or therapist specializing in addictions, to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the most appropriate addiction treatment or alcohol rehab program. 

Not all alcohol and drug rehab centers are the same—they can differ significantly in philosophies, addiction treatment program options, credentials, staff skills and qualifications, and cost. The process of selecting the right drug rehab center can be confusing.

To locate an effective drug rehab or alcohol rehab in your area call 1-800-511-9225 or go to www.lakeviewhealth.com.  

The actual definition of dual diagnosis is the co-existence of a mental health disorder and drug addiction or alcoholism. The most effective dual diagnosis treatment generally will take place within a drug rehab or addiction treatment program with a strong psychiatric component. The mental health disorder and drug addiction / alcoholism should be treated simultaneously, while realizing the process of recovery is gradual.

Different Definition for Dual Diagnosis

The type of dual diagnosis I want to bring to light is that of the coexistence of an eating disorder and drug addiction or alcoholism. Patients like this are admitted to drug rehab and addiction treatment each and everyday. Unfortunately, drug rehab programs and alcohol rehab programs are not always equipped to treat the eating disorder and in many cases, do not even diagnose it correctly.

Relapse and Dual Diagnosis

In most cases, distorted thoughts regarding food and weight took place before the onset of the drug addiction or alcoholism. To not treat the eating disorder, along with the drug addiction and alcoholism, can only lead to relapse for the patient. It is no different than dealing with a mental health disorder and drug addiction, when one component ends in relapse the other is not far behind. The same holds true with an eating disorder and drug addiction. If one of the disorders are in relapse, it will not be long before both will be. Relapse of any kind creates shame, humiliation and a feeling of failure. If one continues in relapse from their eating disorder, it will not be long before they turn to their drug addiction or alcohol addiction to try and cope with their feelings of despair.

If you are looking for a dual diagnosis treatment program that is able to effectively deal with drug addiction, eating disorders and alcoholism call the dual diagnosis helpline at 1-800-511-9225 or go to www.lakeviewhealth.com.

Unfortunately, alcoholism and alcohol abuse is widespread in the gay and lesbian community. Although there are more social outlets today than years ago, the primary source of socializing in the gay and lesbian community is the gay bar scene.

Entering the gay bar scene can be especially challenging for the gay men or woman just “coming out” or the gay man or woman coming out of a gay alcohol treatment program. While there are many positive aspects of the gay bar scene, such as socializing, support in one’s gay life and a feeling of belonging, there are many negative aspects too.

Gay men and women not secure in their sexuality tend to drink alcohol as a means to cope with their insecurity. Before they know it, alcohol becomes a means to an end and alcohol abuse sets in.

It is not long before alcohol abuse turns in to alcoholism and it is here that the gay bar scene takes on an entire different meaning for the gay man or woman. There are gay addcition treatment and gay alcohol treatment programs for the gay or lesbian woman. Don’t wait until your present problems with alcohol become even greater.

For help in finding a gay friendly alcohol rehab program or gay alcohol rehab you can call the national alcohol treatment helpline at 1-800-511-9225 or go directly to www.gay-rehab.com.

The Use of Ecstasy as a Technique to Avoid or Lessen Addiction to Hard Drugs

We have found a few instances in which our respondents calculate that ecstasy is a way to avoid or lessen heroin or other drug addiction. The 16-year-old gang member strategizes:

My homeboys, they just get all messed up on coke and crack, but that shit is too hard. It is too easy to get addicted to it.

He prefers “X” or LSD to coke and other hard drugs.

An 18-year-old heterosexual female notes this rationale for using ecstasy:

When I was sixteen I started snorting heroin, I got hooked on that shit fast! It was all that I wanted to do all the time. All of my money went getting more, and when my money ran out, I would start sleeping with the dealers, or anyone who had some. After a while I was shooting all the time too. I was like that for about five months, then I got arrested one night. They sent me to a rehab place, I broke out twice, and that’s when they sent me to jail. I had no choice but to come clean. I was in there for eight months. When I got out I decided that I would never do that again. So then I realized that a lot of the bad “X” has some heroin in it. So it was better for me to try and find that kind of “X”, rather than the pure stuff. When I buy “X”, I go to the raves and try to find someone with “X” with heroin in it and trade them hits. It gives me just that little fix that I want sometimes. I have not done heroin in a year and a half now, and I am glad. It is good to have a little control over my life now.

Bad ecstasy is used, then, as a strategy for managing a previous heroin addiction.

If you are looking for an addiction treatment program in your area go to www.recoveryconnection.org or call the addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-511-9225.

High Risk Sexual Behavior and Non-Consensual Sex

Another major finding is that high-risk sexual behavior and non-consensual sex while using ecstasy was a frequent practice. For example, as noted above, 14 out of 25 respondents were involved in risky sex while using “X.” One informant had his first “X” the week after his 18th birthday:

…I went and had the best time of my life. I loved the feeling on “X”, and I love being in this club. I had come out the closet about half way into my senior year, and this was my first gay club. It is not actually a gay club, but there are more gay people than straight there. Later that night I took another hit with this transvestite I met there and had sex, and that was it I knew that I wanted to do this every chance I got.

One woman, who was taking “X” about twice a week, relates her experience of being raped and contracting AIDS while having unprotected sex:

I went out with this guy I had met a week before at a rave…We were going to a club…and he had some “X”. Things were going good, until he started touching me constantly. I didn’t really mind at first, but then when I started coming down it started bothering me. I asked him to take me home and he said that he had to stop by his house on the way. When we got to his house he grabbed me and took me into his room and raped me. I found out about a week later that he has AIDS. So I went and got checked about six months later and the test came back positive… by telling you this somehow it will help someone from making the mistake I made. I blame myself. I was out of control all I could think about was getting “X” and doing anything to get it. I did not plan on being raped, but if I had never started doing it, or at least been able to control myself it would not have happened.

Most of the respondents had unprotected sex because they were focused on the sensual experience of ecstasy itself, and not the possible consequences of their behavior. Strong sexual feelings coupled with the feeling of being immortal resulted in unsafe sexual practices. We want to stress that, aside from the frequently reported strong sexual urges experienced while using “X”, the users reported that it made them feel almost immortal. According to one user: “If I wanted to feel like wonder woman I could just get in the right mind set and I would be wonder woman.” Another gang member said, “I liked it, I would feel like nothing was going to hurt me. I thought I could get shot and wouldn’t feel it.” This feeling of invincibility is an important factor leading to unsafe sexual practices.

If you are looking for a gay friendly addiction treatment program go to www.gay-rehab.com or call the ecstasy addiction helpline at 1-800-511-9225

Ecstasy Use and First Homosexual Experience

One of the major findings of this study is that ecstasy use was associated with the first homosexual experience of many of the sample. Further, the use of “X” is reported to enhance the user’s sexual drive. Most of the users had their first sexual encounter with someone of the same sex while on “X”, which then reoriented their sexual preferences to bisexual or homosexual. Of the 25 people interviewed, almost half considered themselves either homosexual or bisexual.

The respondents note that “X” was an important facilitator for initial homosexual sex. One comments on how the scene facilitated his first homosexual experience:

I think that the first experience with any drug will determine if you do it again. I had a great time the first time. I had just turned 18 and we went to a dance club, and my friends all got some “X”. I think the thing I like most about it was the total loss of inhibitions, but I still felt like I was in control of myself. The first time I tried it I wanted to do everything; that was also the first time I had a homosexual experience…. I had thought about it, but the “X” just gave me the courage to do it. The scene does have a lot of homo and bisexuals, but I didn’t feel pressured into it…. I think the scene just provided me with the chance to meet people who were like me.

Two others, who consider themselves bisexuals, also had their first gay experience after the first time they tried “X” at a rave. The first states:

I was 16. I started going to raves… One guy was a dealer and he gave me a “sample” for free. I liked it a lot; it was the best feeling I ever had. It totally took over my sex drive, and that is when I started having sex with both men and women…I am not sure if I would be bisexual if I had never done “X”. It wasn’t really something that I planned; it just kind of happened and I liked it. I do not think I would have had the opportunity if I hadn’t gone to the raves, because I never knew anyone like that before I went. I really only have sex with men once in a while, and when I do I am always on “X”.

Another, commenting about the first time he tried “X”:

I was 17 and went with some friends to an underground rave… we all decided to try it. I had a great time! It made me feel like I was good to party all night, and that’s what we did. We met these people who looked like rave regulars, they took us to an after hours party, and they had all kinds of drugs. We stayed up the whole day doing more “X”, coke, and some people were doing heroin. Then the whole party turned into this big orgy. That is when I had my first bisexual experience.

Two females note that it opened them to lesbian experiences. The first reported:

…I just started doing it a lot more often. I would say that it made me closer to my roommate, and this was when I had my first sexual experience with her…. We were X’ing at the time, but I thought that as we got closer that I was falling in love with her. The drug just gave me the confidence to make this kind of move.

For another, it was her first sexual experience:

I had just moved into the apartments on campus (UTSA) and I was pretty shy, the complete opposite of my roommates. About two weeks after school started, I came home to a party in my apartment. Another roommate asked me if I wanted to try “X”. She said that she got it free for giving this guy a blow job. All four of us took it. I felt really good and didn’t realize how much beer I drank, because of the “X”. After everyone left we all stayed up and talked. One thing led to another and I had my first sexual experience ever, not to mention with a girl.

If you are looking for an addiction treatment program or a gay addiction treatment program, go to www.lakeviewhealth.com or www.gay-rehab.com.