LGBT Drug Treatment Blog

The Bar Culture

Perhaps a simpler reason for an elevated risk of substance abuse, drug addiction and alcohol addiction among GLBT individuals is their exposure to the bar culture. “We have people who are trying to find out where they fit in the world,” says Stolz. “Every GLBT person pretty much grows up feeling very isolated in their thoughts and their feelings, and they’re trying to find a place where they can fit in, and the addiction world kind of welcomes anyone who’s willing to behave how they behave. It’s like a passport to acceptance.”
“Even though we have come to have so many other opportunities to socialize and interact, for many of our younger people, the bar is still seen as the mecca, the place to go, the place to be seen,” says McCabe. In addiction recovery work, he explains, clients are often encouraged to change “people, places, and things” to reduce temptation. “Yet for some gay people in rural areas, the club or bar scene might be their only real contact with the larger GLBT community,” he says. “They have to be able to balance their ability to remain abstinent and their ability to socialize in an environment where alcohol and drugs may be used.” Because of the closeted nature of much of the community, agrees Amico, people may feel extremely isolated, especially those who live far from cities with large GLBT communities. “San Francisco,” he notes, “has the Castro District, and New York City has Christopher Street,” but many cities have no geographic community. The only place GLBT people know where to find each other is in a bar. “It stands to reason that if the only place you know to go to meet other people like you is a bar, you’re going to be there more often.” Clearly, those with a propensity for drug addiction are increasing their vulnerability to addictions.
The bar culture is a challenge for those in recovery as well because the temptation is great to return to such places that may invite relapse. “It’s hard for a lot of gay men and lesbians who are addicted to imagine going back to a life without using because that’s the only way that they know to socialize and it’s become such a part of their identity,” says Agosta. A major concern for GLBT individuals in addiction treatment programs, she says, is what they will do when they go home and can’t go to bars or clubs. “They’re afraid they’ll end up sitting alone at home getting depressed because they don’t know another way to connect with clean and sober gays and lesbians.”
Clients will often say they have to go to bars even if they’re in recovery because it’s their only opportunity to meet others. Amico acknowledges the difficulty but points to strategies. “Here in Phoenix, we don’t have a gay-identified neighborhood as in other large cities, but we have hundreds of organizations and several gay-identified churches.” Sometimes he tells clients to go to a gay church rather than a bar. They often reply that they’re not religious. “I’ll say I’m not asking you to sing, I’m not asking you to pray. You don’t have to do a thing except sit in a room with 100 other gay folks who aren’t there to use drugs or drink.” Another assignment he gives clients is to get local gay newspapers and list all the organizations and groups they’d be most interested in joining and then start attending. “It’s a way to start finding other gay folks that doesn’t necessarily revolve around drugs or alcohol.”

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

Drug Addiction in the GLBT Community GLBT sexual orientation doesn’t cause drug addiction, but it’s a major life issue that’s tough to ignore by either therapist or client in the addiction recovery process. Although sexual orientation isn’t a factor in all cases of drug addiction among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) individuals, it’s often an underlying factor in drug addiction, alcoholism, or tobacco dependency, as well as in process addictions such as compulsive spending or gambling. Sexual orientation clearly doesn’t cause drug addiction; however, experts suggest it may increase the vulnerability of individuals who are already predisposed to drug addiction. According to Joe Amico, MDiv, CSAS, CAS, president of the National Association of Lesbian and Gay Addiction Professionals and community educator for Alternatives, a gay and lesbian addiction treatment program, research points to a rate of addiction to drugs and alcohol three times higher in the GLBT community than in the general population (Amico and Nelson, 1997; Hellman, 1989). Addiction, explains Philip T. McCabe, CSW, CAS, mental health consultant in the Tobacco Dependence Program of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) School of Public Health, is usually an acquired state by a predisposed person over a period of time. “If you have a person who’s biologically predisposed to an drug addiction, it doesn’t matter if they’re straight or gay,” he says. The increased risk, McCabe says, may be attributed to environmental and situational triggers, as well as to the social and emotional stressors linked to being homosexual in a heterosexist society. Similarly, while addiction treatment and recovery issues may be the same for GLBT individuals as their straight counterparts, sexual orientation may influence therapeutic needs and outcomes. Stress and shame drug addiction, alcohol dependency, and tobacco dependency are more common among those attempting to avoid painful situations, says McCabe. “We do know from a mental health perspective that people who are not ‘out’ are more prone to depression, and people who are more prone to depression use substances to alleviate or self-medicate.” On the other hand, he notes, the coming-out process itself can be stressful, and individuals at various stages in that process may self-medicate as a coping strategy to deal with isolation or shame. “Nothing drives drug addiction and alcohol addiction like shame,” says Amico, who notes that in a heterosexist society, people grow up with the shame of not being what’s expected of them by their parents, family, and friends. As evidence, he points to statistics indicating that the highest percentage of teenagers who actually attempt or commit suicide are those struggling with sexual orientation issues. Internalized homophobia, says Annmarie Agosta, MSW, LCSW, a private practitioner in Somerset, NJ, and clinician at UMDNJ, is so pervasive and difficult to work through that many individuals choose to self-medicate and numb their feelings so they don’t have to think about it. She says that those who are aware of their sexual identity at a very early age tend to have a great deal more internalized homophobia than those who come to this understanding later in life. “As they’re growing up, they’re more susceptible when they hear negative comments or hate words from people around them that they care about,” says Agosta. As their identities are being formed, she says, they may feel that because people around them are saying horrible things about them, there’s something intrinsically wrong with them. Adults who come out later in life, says Agosta, “already have an idea about who they are and where they stand in the world.”

A therapist who works primarily with the GLBT community, acknowledges that shame may play some role, but he questions the emphasis that’s frequently placed on it. “It’s dangerous when we go down that route because not everyone has shame,” he says. “People are quick to jump on the internalized heterosexism bandwagon, but a lot of GLBT people who have problems with addictions are perfectly fine with their sexuality. I don’t want to say it’s not a problem for people, but I think it’s dangerous when we automatically assume that it’s a problem. There may be issues with sexuality that create struggles, but it’s not necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship.”

To locate a gay friendly drug rehab or gay friendly alcohol rehab you can call 1-800-511-9225, the national addiction treatment helpline.

The principal ways of cocaine administration are intravenous, oral, inhalation and intranasal. ?Snorting? is the route of inhalation the cocaine powder which is absorbed into bloodstream through nasal tissues. ?Injecting? releases the cocaine directly into bloodstream, and increases the intensity of cocaine effects. ?Smoking? represents the inhalation of vapor of cocaine, and here absorption into bloodstream is as rapidly as by ?injection route?. Cocaine can be also rubbed onto the mucous tissues. Some cocaine users combine this powder, or this crack, with heroin drug in a ?speedball?.

Effects of cocaine appear immediately after a first dose and disappear almost within a few minutes. In small amounts (<100 mg), cocaine makes user to feel energetic, euphoric, talkative. Also, it can decrease the necessity for sleep and food. Many users find that cocaine helps them to support intellectual and physical works more quickly. But often the final of these achievements are characterized by irritability and paranoia or mood swing and restlessness. It is well-known that amounts of several hundred milligrams may lead to violent, bizarre and erratic behavior. These individuals may experience, without any exceptions, tremors, muscle twitches, irritability and paranoia, mood swing and restlessness.

While each individual who uses cocaine reacts to this drug differently, there are outstanding two categories of effects of cocaine: long-term effects and short-term effects. Even if an individual has only takes cocaine once, he can feel the short-term effects of cocaine. Long-term effects of cocaine appear after an increased period of cocaine use and, usually, dependent upon the amount and the duration of time that cocaine has been consumed.

Looking for a cocaine addiction treatment program, go to www.lakeviewhealth.com.  

But, short-term effects of cocaine are noticeable rapidly and they aren?t always damaging. It is possible, that in some cases cocaine effects have caused a bodily damage or death. Often, the death related to effects of this drug is the result of seizures or respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. Some of these short-term effects include decreased appetite, mental alertness, dilated pupils, increased energy and temperature, or increased blood pressure and heart rate.

Appetite suppression, one of the effects of cocaine, is most popular with people looking for lose of weight or looking for maintaining of a low weight. New cocaine-drug users often use cocaine for increasing their productivity in different areas of activities so that they are capable of working harder and longer. While these effects, in the beginning, may seem very promising, the increased tolerance often follows repeated cocaine use. It is well-known that fashion models use cocaine frequently in order to be slim.

Often cocaine users go days, practically without eating, which can bring to irritability and paranoia, mood swing and restlessness. Blood pressure, increased heart rate and temperature, dilated pupils and constricted blood vessels are all physiological short-term effects of cocaine. Long-term effects of cocaine are noticeable as tolerance builds and cocaine abuse continues.

For gay friendly drug rehab program traeting cocaine addiction, go to www.gay-rehab.com.

Cocaine is a highly addictive substance and, often, it can lead to major complications. Some of these major complications include respiratory failure, heart attacks, heart disease, seizures, strokes, irritability and paranoia, mood swing and restlessness, and gastrointestinal problems. Other symptoms may include coma, nausea, convulsions, blurred vision, fever, chest pain and muscle spasms.

For referral to an effective cocaine addiction treatment program you can call the national addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-99-DETOX.

Ecstasy

“I change from a not-that-friendly guy to someone who looks around and just feels like hugging people, or telling them about myself, or sliding my hands all over them.”

“It breaks the boredom of the scene for me. Maybe it’s denial, but everyone seems more interesting, more sensitive, heightened.”

“Donna Summer said it. I feel love.”

Ecstasy
Actually, Empathy might be more like it. This drug makes you feel happy — friendly and open, mainly by rapidly increasing the amount of available serotonin — a chemical transmitter that controls emotions, anxiety and clearness of your thought — in your brain. The serotonin system is the same one that antidepressants like Prozac, as well as more powerful hallucinogenics like LSD, work on.

X, which is more intense than Prozac and milder than acid, usually comes in a pill or capsule, and for four to six hours it increases your ability to relate to other people and decreases fear. Which may be one reason why those boys who won’t say hello at the gym come across the dance floor to tell you how great you look later that night. Too bad your serotonin-full brain stops producing that crucial chemical for a day or so after coming under the influence of X, so you who were so friendly while Xing on Saturday often become a depressed, bitching, irritable monster on Sunday and Monday. Other common post-X symptoms, like an aching lower back, probably have more to do with the fact that when you’re Xing you’re likely to dance all night without stopping.

Not much is known about Ecstasy use over the long term. People who do a lot of it report that it takes more to get them high over time, and research has shown some damage of nerve endings and permanent reduction in serotonin levels in animals given higher or repeated doses. There has not been enough research done to determine whether a small amount of X alters your serotonin system, or whether such a change in your serotonin system would affect the way you function. Far fewer deaths and liver failures have been reported from Ecstasy than from a drug like alcohol, and most of the fatalities and complications may be caused by what the drug was combined with, or what was cut into it before it was sold. Among the things found mixed into X: caffeine, decongestants, baking soda, dog worming medicine, amphetamines, and MDA, a trippier and possibly more toxic relative.

There is not much information about the interaction of X and HIV or HIV-related medications, though in England — where an estimated half million people use X each weekend — a man on the protease inhibitor Ritonavir recently collapsed and died with the equivalent of 22 hits of X in his body. Researchers at Ritonavir’s manufacturer, Abbot, acknowledged the theoretical possibility that interactions between their drug and Ecstasy could boost X levels by “as high as five to ten fold,” though no studies have been done or are planned on interactions between Ecstasy and any of the protease inhibitors. Abbot feels that such research would appear to be “condoning” illegal drug use.

Looking for a gay friendly drug rehab, go to www.gay-rehab.com.

Among the things we do know:

• X elevates heart rate and blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma or a heart condition, X is dangerous. A small number of people have a severe allergic reaction to X similar to that caused in some people by a bee sting or penicillin. 
• X and protease inhibitors may cause potentially deadly interactions. 
• Anti-depressants known as MAO inhibitors, like Nardil, may combine with X to raise blood pressure to deadly levels. If a serotonin-based anti-depressant, like Prozac, is helping you, it would be prudent to not interfere with a good thing. MDMA may interfere with the way Prozac functions and could lead to complications from having too high a serotonin level. The bottom line is that we don’t know what the interactions are. 
• X elevates body temperature, making you sweat up to a pint an hour. In the nineties, there have been at least 15 documented deaths due to dehydration caused by dancing, hot conditions and the use of MDMA. Several others have died from guzzling gallons of water at once. If you are going to X, try to drink plenty of water and not all at once. If you’re Xing in a hot place, take frequent breaks, rest and drink some water. If your piss seems dark or like there’s not much of it, stop and drink some water. Lose the trendy cap — it keeps in heat. Don’t keep dancing without taking breaks, and get some salt — or better, a “sports” or “isotonic” drink — to help keep your body’s balance. 
• Alcohol doesn’t get you any higher on X, but it does dehydrate you faster. 
• X can make you feel sick to your stomach as it’s kicking in, or like you have to go to the bathroom. Also, a dry mouth, tense jaw and grinding teeth are common.

Looking for a gay friendly alcohol rehab program, go to www.lakeviewhealth.com  

Sex, X, and HIV.X is often described as more sensual than sexual: in other words, more about overall sensation and less about your dick, ass and getting off. Research suggests that X actually decreases men’s ability to get hard or reach orgasm. Still, people take Ecstasy because it helps them get over their shyness and feel more connected to others. Bring condoms and lube along with you to the party, before you find yourself on the way home with a goofy grin and a fine man who seems like he can see into your soul.

Looking for a gay friendly club drug addiction treatment, go to www.gay-rehab.com

Sex, K and HIVDon’t get K-razy in the bedroom. If you can’t walk straight, do you really think you can fuck safe? If you feel like your body is one place and your mind is somewhere else, it’s going to be hard to bring the two back together to cope with telling him to wear a condom.

GHB

(In England, GBH), usually sold as a clear liquid or a powder you dissolve into liquid, is also called liquid E or liquid X. Since its effects are different from X (it actually works, like K, on the GABA system), the name seems wrong. The English nickname for the drug — Grievous Bodily Harm — may be more like it. Not that GHB is always harmful. The right dose may make your sense of touch electric, make you feel like sex, and give you a hangover-free feeling like being drunk. Take a little more, however, and you slip into a deep sleep, often one so deep you can’t be awakened. Just a little more GHB can lead to a coma, and possibly death.

Sleep — including the deep, restorative sleep known as slow-wave sleep, when the body releases immune-boosting growth hormones — is what GHB is intended to produce, and why it sold briskly over gym and health-food store counters throughout the ’80s. If GHB is not mixed with any other drug, those slipping into GHB sleep will usually twitch slightly and awaken some hours later feeling refreshed. But add any other kind of drug that slows down your central nervous system — like alcohol or even allergy medications — and you run the risk of seizures, breathing failure, and even coma and death. Nearly a dozen people at a Los Angeles concert had to be carried into ambulances after doing GHB and who knows what else. A man at GMHC’s 1996 Morning Party had to be airlifted to a hospital after he mixed GHB and alcohol and collapsed. A model in New York took a swig of GHB from an Evian bottle, and woke up a day late for her photo shoot. Two men on Fire Island overdosed on GHB and alcohol, and died.

The issue is what psychopharmacologists call the therapeutic index — the difference between how much of a drug makes you feel good and the dose that makes you sick. You could take a dozen Prozacs, for example, and probably not do yourself lasting damage. Do an extra dose or two of GHB, and you may find yourself unconscious on top of your sex partner (really unconscious) or waking up long after the rest of the world has gone on ahead. And since all the GHB you get is manufactured in do-it-yourself labs, you really don’t know how much is in that teaspoon or water bottle you’re raising to your mouth. If you have HIV, you should know that not much is known about how GHB affects the immune system. Growth hormones similiar to the one GHB helps to release have proved useful in treating AIDS-related wasting. Respiratory failure and comas, on the other hand, are definitely not recommended.

• If you have any history of seizures, convulsions or slowed heart beat or low blood pressure, GHB is especially dangerous. 
• Mixing GHB with alcohol, tranquilizers (Valium, Xanax), painkillers or even over-the-counter sleep or allergy medications that slow down your nervous system puts you at risk for coma, breathing failure or death. 

   

• Don’t use GHB in a place where sudden, unexpected unconsciousness is going to be a problem. Yes, that includes clubs and parties (no matter how attractive an alternative coma may seem compared to the late end of a slow Saturday night). If you do GHB, use it in very small amounts to determine when you get high, and then stop. Don’t eat beforehand, since a full stomach may make the effects harder to gauge. 

   

• Make sure a friend knows what you’re doing and can get you to safety if you do go unconscious.

Sex, GHB and HIVFeeling dreamy and electric is what most of us want from sex. What you don’t want is to dream yourself into believing that feeling good means you don’t have to protect yourself or someone else with condoms. You also don’t want to find yourself so out of it that you don’t know where you’ve been, or what or who’s been up your ass.

Pills, Powder, Poppers, HIV and You

“It was wild: At first I wasn’t even sure I was going out, then when I got there my friends introduced me to this cute 26-year-old DJ who danced with me for an hour. When he asked if I wanted to go home with him to party, I thought he meant sex, but he meant sex and Crystal and K and more Crystal and more sex. I got home some time Sunday, tweaked, tired and with a satisfying dull ache in my butthole.”
Getting High and Don’t Know Where It’s Getting You?
Tanqueray and tonics in Cincinnati. Long Island Iced Teas. Poppers in Provincetown, K in Key West or Crystal in California. Gay men, like all people, are no strangers to using drugs when we get together to party. What that may mean for you if you choose to join in — whether you end up speedy or “Xstatic,” calm or crashing, panicking in a K-hole or pleasantly out-of-it on a bump or a few beers — depends on a number of different factors. Some factors are biological: like how much you weigh, how big a dose of the drug you took, how you took it, and how much difference there is with that particular drug between a dose that helps you feel good and a dose that makes you sick.

To find a gay friendly drug rehab program, www.gay-rehab.com
Some are circumstantial: like what other drugs (prescription or not) you’re on, how much baby laxative may have been mixed into the powder you just paid $25 for, or even who you’re with and where.
Some factors might be called psychobiological: in other words, how your mental and physical states combine. If you’re in a bout of depression, for example, you’re more likely to want to use cocaine. You’re also more likely to feel like the world is ending when you’re coming down from a three-day binge. This depression may last days or even longer.
What’s your plan?
“It’s not that I plan it. You do a bump, you feel like anything could happen. A few hours later, you do another.”
Talk to people about partying and hooking up with other men, and they describe what one researcher calls the “SUDS”: Seemingly Unimportant Decisions. Say you decide to go out after all, meet a friend and go off to another club, and then decide to do that bump of K. Somehow, next thing you know, it’s later than you thought, or you’re going home with someone hot, or it’s 4:00 in the morning before a workday and you’re still on the phone-sex lines. Talk to people about those extra-long nights or two-day parties, and chances are good that there was a drug — either alcohol or some less legal pills, powder or poppers — in the picture. Talk to people about having sex — especially sex without condoms — and chances that there was a drug involved get even better.

To locate a gay friendly alcohol detox program, go to www.lakeviewhealth.com

Drugs, Sex and HIV
The best studies out there on gay men’s sexual behavior have found that use of cocaine, poppers and Crystal has a significant link to unsafe sex. That doesn’t mean drugs cause unsafe sex — some people want to have that kind of sex in the first place, and use drugs to make it easier. But the fact remains: anal sex without a condom is the main way a gay man gets HIV, and it usually happens while you’re high. In addition to thinking about what a drug may do to your body, give some serious thought to what you want someone else to do or not do to it. That’s hard enough for most of us when we’re stone cold sober, and it gets harder when you’re under the influence, so try to think safer sex through before you snort, sniff or swallow.
“I do coke because then I don’t have to think. One line and I can talk to guys who’d never give me the time of day. It’s like magic.”
Magic has tricks to it. So does getting beyond the illusion that drugs only make you feel good, and figuring out what drug use really means for you and what it may cost you. You can think through the buzz. “Seemingly unimportant decisions” may lead to really important ones, particularly if they’re about going home with someone when you’re high, or mixing drugs without knowing the risks. Your social surroundings also make those risks easier or harder to control. Doing poppers just before he’s getting ready to stick it in you, with or without a condom, is different from doing poppers on the dance floor. Deciding to do a third bump of K when you’ve already had five drinks is more likely to land you in a K hole. If you know you’re so high on coke that you can’t even get a hard-on, maybe going home alone is better than ending up as the bottom with some top who won’t care about condoms if you don’t.

Looking for a gay friendly dual diagnosis treatment program, go to, www.lakeviewhealth.com

GMHC does not encourage or condone the use of any of these drugs. But if you are going to use, here are twelve things to think about:
1.       What goes up must come down.
Before doing any drug, give some serious attention to how you’re going to feel afterwards as well as when you’re high. Both are part of the “drug experience.”
2.       Know your own mind.
What works for others may not work for you. If you’ve had anxiety attacks, a drug like K may seriously upset or disorient you. If you’re prone to paranoia (like everyone’s out to get you), Crystal may play into your fears. If you feel depressed now, you’re really going to be bad coming down from coke. And so on.
3.       Take a body check.
Look yourself over, all over, before you start the party. Any cuts or sores that could let in HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases will be harder to feel once you’re wasted.
4.       Avoid mixing your medicines.
Mixing drugs is self-prescription, with lots of complicated cross-reactions and unknowns. It’s much safer not to mix drugs with each other, or with alcohol. If you’re on prescription medications, don’t take any party drug, including alcohol, without a doctor’s advice (yes, your doctor can tell you about what the effects might be of taking a little extra, less-than-legal medicine).
5.       Think twice before the second round.
Have you really waited long enough to know how high you’re going to feel from the first one?
6.       Avoid shooting.
Except in the case of poppers, swallowing drugs is usually the safest, since it lets them work their way into your system gradually. Snorting is riskier, and shooting or smoking drugs rushes them to the brain, which can make them more addictive and put you at greater risk of overdose (not to mention HIV, hepatitis and other complications of needle use.) If you do use needles, get a clean, sterile one, and don’t share. (See HIV/AIDS Basics )
7.       Treat yourself right.
Think about how you act toward others, or how you let others treat you, when you’re high. Do you even know? Do you have a friend or lover who can tell you honestly?
8.       Consider another way.
How do you hope to feel on the drug? Are there any other times or ways you can get that feeling without getting high? Pursue those with the same focus it takes to find drugs.
9.       Stay flexible.
Leave yourself the option of staying home, or of doing the party without doing the drugs if it doesn’t feel right. Real friends will understand.
10.   Missing something?
If you’re on HIV medications, especially protease inhibitors, you’re not likely to stay on schedule if you’re tripping for eight hours. Missing doses makes the virus stronger.
11.   Remember HIV.
Doing drugs brings down barriers. Plan ahead and don’t let a latex barrier — a condom that can save your life or someone else’s — get lost in the process.
12.   Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
If you’re in trouble on a drug, find a friend or a friendly face. If you have questions about the ways you are combining drugs, alcohol, and sex, you can make changes. You don’t need to be an alcoholic or a drug or sex addict to get the information you need. By talking about the sex you are having, what it means to you, and what it may cost you, it is possible to make partying — and sex — safer.
In addition to knowing what system of the body a drug works on, there’s another important system to consider: the legal system. Alcohol is the only party drug approved for use in humans outside a hospital or laboratory, and most other drugs are illegal. This means you may be adding risk of arrest to the other risks you take when you use them. It also means that these drugs are often coming out of somebody’s homemade laboratory — meaning that there is no quality control over how they are cut or the different doses in each pill or bag of powder. Finally, manufacturers of legal drugs do not and are not required to test for bad interactions between their products and illegal drugs, which means you are taking a big risk when you mix party drugs together or take them with other, prescribed medications

Call 1-800-99-DETOX for a drug detox program near you.

The Trouble with Tina (Gay)
Experts say crystal meth is worst ‘club drug’ addiction to kick

For nine years, crystal methamphetamine was a “totally manageable” drug for “Carlos,” a 35-year-old D.C. man who asked to remain anonymous.

His use was limited to the weekends to attain a high that he shared on the dance floor or at small parties with friends. One of his favorite activities was taking a bump of crystal on a Saturday morning, turning up the stereo and cleaning the house.

But in early 2001, the frequency of Carlos’ use of crystal meth increased to dangerous levels. The worry-free Saturday mornings were supplanted by the drug’s well-known menacing hold: binge bumping, lack of sleep, recklessness and as Carlos describes it, an insatiable hunt for “animalistic sex.”

“I started doing things sexually on crystal that I wouldn’t normally do,” said Carlos, who added that he and his partner never practiced unsafe sex during their escapades. “My partner and I started doing three-ways, and I soon found out that we were trying to top our last sexual experience.

“Once you get into the true addictive stage [of crystal], the sexual experience must be bigger than, and more intense than, the previous one. If you did a three-way last weekend, you have to do two three-ways the following weekend, or a four-way. At the time I felt this was all perfectly reasonable and fine.”

Looking for a gay friendly drug rehab, go to www.gay-rehab.com

Crystal methamphetamine — also known as, crystal, crank, tweak, T, go-fast, speed and Tina — is an amphetamine-based drug designed to stimulate the central nervous system. It is typically snorted, smoked, injected or swallowed and has become a favorite drug among club-goers, notably among gay men.

Studies have shown that the preferred method for taking crystal meth varies from region to region. According to a 2000 study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 60 percent of crystal meth users in San Diego prefer to smoke the drug, while a majority of crystal meth users in the Minneapolis area sniff it. In Texas, 60 percent of crystal meth users were found to be injecting the drug.

A drug rehab for crystal meth addiction can be found at www.lakeviewhealth.com.

According to the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an estimated 8.8 million people (four percent of the population) have tried methamphetamine at some time in their lives, up from 4.8 million in 1996.

Regional data suggest that the problem is on the rise among gay men. In San Francisco, health officials estimate that up to 40 percent of gay men have tried crystal meth, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

In New York, a study last year found that more than 50 percent of gay men who admitted to using drugs or alcohol in the previous year had also tried crystal meth, up from 10 percent of gay men surveyed in bars and clubs in 1998, according to research by the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies & Training.

One bump of crystal can result in a six- to 24-hour high, marked by a decreased appetite and lowered inhibitions, said Joseph LaFleur, a licensed, independent clinical social worker and club-drug counselor in the D.C. area.

“Crystal meth gives one a sense of well-being and belonging,” LaFleur said. “People say they easily fit into most social situations, have more energy for dancing, better interactions with people and a lot of folks use it to enhance their sexual experiences.”

But despite the perceived “benefits” the drug produces, the immediate and long-term results are harmful, said Michael Siever, director of the Stonewall Project, a harm reduction-counseling program for gay and bisexual men in San Francisco.

“A lot of people, over time, start to get more and more paranoid,” Siever said. “They get psychotic; the crash is horrible. Everyone is ready to quit while they are crashing but that subsides. … One of the biggest side effects is that people don’t take care of themselves when they are high — they don’t eat, sleep — and the drug has some pretty long-term lasting effects on your brain chemistry. It strongly impacts the dopamine in your brain and that does not heal quickly.”

Siever described crystal meth abuse as an ongoing crisis that has been an issue for many years. He said statistics in California show that it is the most commonly used drug on the West Coast.

For an addiction treatment program in your area call the national addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-511-9225.

When you are searching for an gay friendly alcohol rehab program or gay friendly drug rehab program, it is important that you select a alcohol treatment facility that will best suit the needs of the person in need of alcohol treatment. Whether it’s you, a family member or friend, the most important part of the gay alcohol rehab selection process is ensuring that the alcohol treatment facility will be able to offer not only a quality alcohol treatment program, but also effective alcohol treatment through the entire alcohol rehab process.

One of the best ways to locate an effective gay friendly alcohol rehab facility is through the referral of an addiction treatment professional who is familiar with quality alcohol treatment programs and the level of alcohol treatment that will meet your particular needs. . Without the recommendation of an addiction treatment professional, individuals will have to search for an alcohol treatment facility on their own.
While each alcohol rehab program or gay friendly drug rehab treatment program is different, the basic fundamentals are the same. Most addiction treatment facilities have a strict list of guidelines that every patient must adhere. This is especially true of an inpatient addiction treatment facility or inpatient alcohol rehab facility. Most alcohol treatment programs begin with a detoxification process, often referred to simply as ‘alcohol detox,’ which is followed by a alcohol treatment program customized to the patient’s needs.
According to their level of alcohol dependency, patients may be required to attend an inpatient alcohol treatment program. As mentioned previously, this entails the patient actually residing on the property during the treatment process. Outpatient alcohol treatment, on the other hand, is for individuals who are able to continue living their life, attending school, work and everyday functions without the concern of alcohol abuse. The decision between an inpatient alcohol treatment program or outpatient alcohol treatment program will depend heavily on the level of addiction and the patient’s ability to resist alcohol and drugs without constant supervision.

If you need assistance in locating al alcohol rehab program, call 1-800-99-DETOX or go to www.recoveryconnection.org.

Alcohol Addiction and Abuse

Facts about Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol abuse is a serious problem in the United States and in many countries throughout the world. Those afflicted with alcoholism suffer from a variety of problems that negatively impact upon many aspects of their lives. It is estimated that between 9 to 13 million people suffer from alcohol abuse. The statistics are quite frightening. Alcohol is responsible for half the annual deaths due to automobile accidents, and for more than 70% of adolescent suicides (Landy, 1987). 

Over time, alcohol abuse leads to a variety of serious health problems. These can include chronic liver disease, decreased sex hormone production, pancreatitis, kidney disease, and brain damage. Psychiatric problems include depression, paranoia, and low self-esteem. It is difficult for individuals with alcohol problems to be productive and many lose jobs or cannot be successful in their area of work.  Perhaps the most devastating effects of chronic alcohol problems are the social problems which manifest directly from alcoholism: domestic violence, child abuse, marital conflict, deconstruction of the family and of community cohesion.

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

Alcoholism Defined
There is a difference between alcoholism and problem drinking. Alcoholics are both physically and psychologically dependent, while problem drinkers are psychologically dependent.
 

The physiological dependency can be seen in the high tolerance that drinkers develop - that is, the need to drink more and more to obtain the same effects. Research has shown that over time (with regular alcohol use) the body adjusts to having the chemical in its system. The body then becomes “normal” only with alcohol. The alcohol is required for basic functioning, and many alcoholics need a drink in the morning just to get out of bed.
 

The physical nature of alcoholism is also seen in compulsive behaviors (the inability to stop drinking once started). This is what is referred to as the “out of control” behaviors of the alcoholic.   
 

One of the psychological aspects of dependency is the obsessive thoughts about drinking. Another is the use of alcohol to relieve tension and anxiety. Typically the heavy drinker has difficulty coping with negative feelings and discovers that alcohol relieves worry and distress. A pattern of drinking to ease daily tension and life problems escalates leading ultimately to physiological dependence. In this way, the problem drinker becomes an alcoholic.

Looking for a gay friendly alcohol detox…………..
 

Alcoholism and Black Women
Those at risk for developing alcohol addiction are individuals who experience a lot of stress in their lives, have difficulty coping, have easy access to alcohol, and are encouraged to drink by their social environment. Alcoholism is especially likely when individuals grow up with one or more alcoholic parents.  
 

White men have among the highest rates of alcoholism in the U.S.  Black males experience less alcoholism than White males, but still have rates high enough to be of concern (15% in 1984 and 1995 surveys). Black women have a much lower rate (5% in both surveys) which is equal to White women (Caetano & Clark, 1998).
 

While the rates of alcoholism are relatively low amongst Black women, they do face    the challenge of  coping with the alcoholism of their male spouses. It is suggested that they may be affected by “codependency”, the tendency of family members to protect the alcoholic and take on alcoholic-like characteristics, such as denial, blaming, and rationalizing dysfunctional behaviors.
 

Black women must also be aware of some of the stresses and sources of depression unique to them which contribute to turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism. Causal factors of stress and depression for Black women often cited are racism, sexual exploitation, alienation from traditional African and African American values (such as spirituality and community), and increasingly poor relationships between Black women and men.
 

Alcohol Treatment Program
Alcohol treatment programs must be complex to met the challenges of healing the alcoholic, including breaking through denial and building a vision of a healthier lifestyle. There are many professional treatments for alcoholism. Individual therapy or inpatient alcohol treatment programs are the typical methods of healing. These make a logical first step because of the benefit of being in a controlled environment safe from temptations to drink. Alcohol addiction treatment programs that focus on the unique needs of African Americans do exist (though rare). Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), a twelve-step support group, is not professional-based, but has a very good success rate for healing the alcoholic who is motivated to change. One caveat for African American women who participate in A.A. is that its emphasis on “accepting powerlessness” may lack the empowering effect it has for others. For Black women who typically do not feel powerful in U.S. society “Surrendering” to the idea of being an alcoholic may be a more appropriate attitude.
 

Healing begins with admitting that drinking is out of control and recognizing the destructive consequences of drinking on the self and on others. The next step is to contact A.A. or a substance abuse treatment facility in your community. The road to recovery for African American women often leads not only to the ability to abstain from drinking, but to a new found sense of spirituality and increased self-awareness and self-esteem.

If you need help locating a safe and effective alcohol detox program or alcohol rehab program call the national addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-99-DETOX.
 

The definition of a dual diagnosis is basically the co-existence of a drug addiction, alcohol addiction and psychiatric disorder. With this in mind, many people question which do you treat first and when do you begin alcohol detox or drug detox.

Alcohol Detox or Drug Detox

Whether a person has a psychiatric disorder or not, alcohol detox is the first step towards recovery from both disorders. Prior to admission to any quality alcohol detox or drug detox program each person is provided with a comprehensive evaluation relating to their drug/alcohol abuse, as well as, their mental health history. With this information, the medical director of the alcohol rehab or alcohol detox program can design a alcohol detox protocol to manage any related alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Simultaneously, the physician can prescribe medication, if warranted to manage any psychiatric symptoms a person may experience. It is important to note, that many alcohol detox programs or alcohol rehab programs try not to dispense psychiatric medications until after alcohol detox because so many alcohol withdrawal symptoms mimic psychiatric symptoms.

Alcohol Detox Services

After a person completes alcohol detox and their alcohol withdrawal symptoms have subsided, the medical director of the alcohol rehab can better assess any mental health issues. If a psychiatric disorder is present, then the alcohol addiction and psychiatric disorder are treated simultaneously. Psychiatric medication can be dispensed if that is the best course of action and the patient can transition into the dual diagnosis treatment program.

While alcohol detox programs are easy to find, safe and effective alcohol detox programs are not. Allow, www.recoveryconnection.org to assist you in finding a alcohol detox program that can best meet your specific needs. You can call Recovery Connection at 1-800-99-DETOX or go directly to a nationally recognized alcohol rehab at www.lakeviewhealth.com.

What do you imagine when you think of a drug addiction treatment center? Whether you think of a strict hospital-like setting or a ranch out in the wilderness, your perception does not cover the entire spectrum of drug addiction treatment centers. Here are some tips for what to look for in choosing a drug addiction treatment center.

First of all, access the situation. Look at the following factors in the life of the individual needing a drug treatment program: 

• Insurance options 
• Type of drug or drug used 
• Age of individual 
• Whether or not there is a history of criminal offenses 
• Family support 
• Whether or not it is the first or subsequent time in a drug treatment program

Next look at the type of drug addiction. Is the individual physically addicted to the drug and will they experience withdrawal symptoms? Are they psychologically addicted and need total behavioral alterations? After accessing the individual, you need to ask questions like the following to your physician, counselor and especially the perspective drug treatment programs themselves in choosing the right drug treatment program.

Does the alcohol treatment program 

• Use medications in their alcohol treatment? Which types? 
• Use vitamins and/or natural treatments? Which types? 
• Cater to many individuals or just a few? What is the counselor-to-patient ratio? 
• Medically manage alcohol withdrawal symptoms? 
• Test or assess such infectious diseases as HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis etc. Those in drug lifestyles are usually at a higher risk for infectious diseases.

Also, how long is the alcohol treatment program? Are families involved? What is the cost? These and similar questions can help you find out more about the different drug treatment centers.

Another type of alcohol treatment program are residential treatment programs. These are more geared toward those who have been addicted for a long time. These are usually longer programs and try to re-acclimate and teach individuals to live in a drug-free, crime free community.

It has been said that the best addiction treatment programs are those that are tailored to an individuals needs. This takes into account the individual’s whole life: race, age, culture, gender, employment, past drug history, criminal behavior and history of physical or sexual abuse. In researching the drug treatment program, you may want to pay special attention to the seriousness of those within the drug program. Sometimes those who may have only tried a few drugs get more excited about trying other drugs when around serious drug users. Finding a drug rehab program that best tailors to the individual’s circumstances will likely be the one that helps the individual the most.

In most all drug addiction treatment centers, regardless of their differences, they strive to return the individual to a drug-free lifestyle. Sometimes this will take more than one drug treatment and sometimes multiple tries within a drug treatment center. Do not give up. Do your research, and hopefully you can find an effective drug addiction treatment center.

Choosing a Drug Treatment Facility Sources:

• Drug Library, “Drug Rehab Center,” [National Institute on Drug Abuse, “NIDA InfoFacts: Treatment Approaches for Drug Addcition,” National Institute on Drug Abuse, “NIDA InfoFacts: Treatment for Drug Abusers in the Criminal Justice System,”
• National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide,”
• Slate, by Maia Szalavitz, “Trick or Treatment:Teen drug programs turn curious teens into crackheads,”