Chemsex
Chemsex means using certain drugs as part of your sex life. It comes with a lot of risks and can have long-lasting consequences.
What is chemsex?
Chemsex involves using drugs before or during planned sexual activity to sustain, enhance, disinhibit or facilitate the experience.
The term chemsex is used in Europe and Asia. In America and Australia, it’s known as PnP, which stands for ‘party and play’.
It’s most commonly practised by gay men and other men who have sex with men. But it does affect people of all genders and sexualities, including straight men and women, trans women and non-binary people.
Not everyone who uses drugs will try chemsex, and not everyone who has chemsex will experience problems. There are different levels of use, from experimenting once to daily drug taking.
We’ve worked with the experts at Controlling Chemsex to find out more about chemsex and how it can affect your sexual health.
What drugs does it involve?
In the UK, chemsex typically involves 3 specific drugs, known as chems. These are taken before or during sex. These drugs are:
Crystal methamphetamine, also known as T, Tina, crystal, ice or meth
Methamphetamine is a very addictive stimulant. It’s one of the most common drugs used for chemsex all over the world.
It has an almost immediate stimulating effect on the central nervous system. Some of its effects include increased physical activity, increased wakefulness, and reduced feelings of tiredness. It can make you feel alert, sexually aroused, and incredibly confident and powerful.
Mephedrone, also known as M, Meow Meow, M-Kat, Drone or CAT
Mephedrone is also a very powerful stimulant. Its main effects include an increase in euphoria, talkativeness, alertness, and a very strong sense of connection and empathy with others.
GHB or GBL, also known as G or Gina
GHB and GBL are depressant or sedative drugs. In small doses, they can make you feel euphoric and more confident, with a loss of inhibitions, higher libido and greater sensitivity to touch. The dose of these drugs is hard to get right because there’s a high risk of overdosing. The difference between a recreational dose and an overdose may only be a matter of millilitres.
Chemsex and dating apps
A lot of chemsex activity is organised through gay dating apps such as Grindr, Scruff and Recon. It’s one of the most popular ways of connecting with others who use chems. People use specific terms, like a code, in messages and on their profiles to show they enjoy chemsex and to find partners.
Terms you might see:
HnH - short for ‘high and horny’, means someone is interested in chemsex
BB or raw - shows that someone is looking for anal sex without a condom, known as bareback
T - short for Tina, another name for crystal meth
G - means GHB or GBL
M - means mephedrone
V - interested in using Viagra
What are the risks?
These drugs can make you feel invulnerable to harm, supremely confident and not worried about consequences. This can mean that you might take risks that you usually would avoid.
Meth and mephedrone particularly can keep you awake for days, prioritising sex over anything else. This means you often neglect your most basic needs. Things like eating, hydration, and sleeping can be forgotten. And this has an effect on your health, career and relationships.
All of this can have a destructive impact on almost every area of your life. If you’re using chems, you might experience problems with:
physical health, from accidents and injuries, nutritional issues, lung and heart diseases, dental problems and disrupted sleeping patterns
mental health, including high levels of depression, anxiety, or psychotic episodes such as paranoia or hallucinations
emotional health – issues like isolation, domestic and relationship issues, low self-esteem or inability to focus or make decisions
sexual health – chemsex comes with a high risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like HIV, hepatitis C, syphilis and gonorrhoea. If you’re living with HIV or taking other HIV-related medications (like PrEP), it can mean you forget to take your medication regularly
financial issues and unemployment
personal safety such as drug overdoses or suicides
chemsex-related crimes: sexual assault and robbery can take place at chemsex sessions
legal issues, let’s not forget that these drugs are illegal to buy, sell and have in your possession
Reducing the risks
It might be obvious, but the best way to avoid the negative side of chemsex is to not get involved in chemsex at all. But this isn’t always what people want to do. Understanding the risks and how to reduce them can help you have a safer session.
For advice on reducing the risks, check out the Controlling Chemsex article on harm reduction
Chemsex and sexual health
Using drugs during sex can make you feel more sexually adventurous. And they can lower inhibitions. This means you might do things sexually that you wouldn’t usually do. This could be sex with multiple people, not using protection, and having sex for long sessions. All of this puts you at a higher risk for STIs and other problems with your sexual health.
Studies have shown that men who have sex with men and take part in chemsex:
are 4 times more likely to be diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection
are 5 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV
are 9 times more likely to be diagnosed with hepatitis C
Remember that chems allow people to stay awake and horny for longer than usual. This can lead to having sex with more people than usual. And the more people you’re with, the higher the risk of STIs. Also, sex that lasts for a long time can lead to broken skin around the anus and genitals, which can increase the risk of STIs, HIV and hepatitis C.
Using condoms and latex gloves will reduce your risk of getting HIV and other STIs.
Regular STI testing means you can stay informed about your HIV status and treat any STIs early. Taking a test every 3 months allows you to stay on top of any STIs, be treated early and reduce the number of people you need to inform.
If you don’t have HIV and are having lots of sex, find out about how to protect yourself before having sex using PrEP or after having sex with PEP.
Where can I get support?
If you’re struggling with chemsex and the issues it causes, reach out to Controlling Chemsex. They’re a specialised charity that can offer practical advice, reliable information and professional support for anyone who wants to stop or reduce their chems use.
Only you can say how much chemsex is affecting your life. If you’re worried or want to think about how chemsex is impacting different areas of your life, you can use the Controlling Chemsex self-assessment.
It’s completely confidential, your answers are not shared or stored. This tool helps you to look at all areas of your life to understand how chemsex is affecting you.
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