Mephedrone and meth are currently at the centre of concerns among public health practitioners about gay men’s use of drugs in a sexual context.
More concerningly, it found that one in nine respondents said they had used mephedrone, ketamine or crystal meth. According to the survey, 56% had used poppers/amyl nitrites, 48% had used cannabis, 41% had used cocaine and 40% had used MDMA/ecstasy. One of the questions asked respondents what drugs they used before sex, and the results suggest that gay and bisexual men are much more likely to consume drugs than the general population. The bone-shattering dog-bites-man banality of the top line – people have sex when drunk – notwithstanding, the story includes some alarming figures about gay men’s consumption of drugs and alcohol, and their link to unsafe sexual behaviour.
