Political Attacks like ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Leads To Surge in Meth Use Among Gay Men
Share
A surge in meth use among gay men that began during the COVID pandemic seems to continue to be fueled by nationwide political attacks aimed at the LGBT community like Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Jim Mangia, president and chief executive of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in California, said that he has seen an uptick in MSM patients struggling with meth addiction. The center hired two additional substance use counselors to help accommodate the increase in patients.
In terms of why meth use seems to disproportionately impact MSM, Mangia said there are numerous factors. “I think this latest surge is related to the recent political attacks being leveled against the LGBTQ+ community. These political attacks, like “Don’t Say Gay” [laws], create a level of insecurity and despair among the gay community and can result in an increase in risky behaviors within our community. I also think the culture of sex in the gay male community makes some of us vulnerable to a sex-enhancing drug like crystal meth. After generations of having our sex lives criminalized, we are more susceptible to sex and drug addictions.”
Beyond its prevalence among MSM, meth use is becoming a nationwide epidemic, Heiler added. “We’ve focused so much time and money and energy on the opioid epidemic. We can’t treat methamphetamine dependency the same way we’ve treated opioid dependency. I think that we need to start shifting our focus to how we can successfully treat folks that are using meth.”
A recent report observed that anti-LGBT hate rhetoric increased 400% online since Florida passed the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.
Anti-LGBTQ hate surged online following the passage of a Florida law that limits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, a new report found.
This particular surge involves rhetoric implying that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people are “grooming” children and includes such slurs as “groomer,” “pedophile” and “predator” in relation to the LGBTQ community.
The month after the Florida Senate passed the Parental Rights in Education bill, or what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, on March 8, tweets mentioning the LGBTQ community alongside these slurs increased 406%, according to the report, which was conducted by the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign and the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate.
The law, which took effect July 1, bans instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity “in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
To evaluate the increase in rhetoric related to “grooming”, researchers collected a sample of 989,547 tweets that were posted between Jan. 1 and July 27 and that mentioned the LGBTQ community alongside words including “groomer” and “pedophile.” They found that an average of 6,607 tweets a day used such rhetoric in the month after the bill passed, a significant increase from 1,307 tweets the month before.
On March 28, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed the bill into law, there was also a marked increase in the use of the “#OKGroomer” hashtag, which the report said was often used as a derogatory response to tweets from LGBTQ educators, organizations and health care providers, among others. On the day after DeSantis signed the bill, “OK groomer” tweets peaked with 9,219 total, or about one every nine seconds, the report found.
“Grooming” rhetoric was spread by a “small group of radical extremists as part of a coordinated and concerted effort to attack LGBTQ+ kids to rile up extreme members of their base,” the report said.
Tweets from just 10 people — including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’ press secretary — were viewed an estimated 48 million times and were “responsible for driving” the “grooming” narrative, researchers found.
“We’re in the middle of a growing wave of hate and demonization targeting LGBTQ+ people — often distributed digitally by opportunistic politicians and so-called ‘influencers’ for personal gain,” Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said in a statement, according to a press release. “Online hate and lies reflect and reinforce offline violence and hate. The normalization of anti-LGBTQ+ narratives in digital spaces puts LGBTQ+ people in danger.”
Meth and Sex
A stimulant which releases dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, Meth is a powerful, addictive drug that comes with damaging side effects, and health workers say its use among MSM has become intertwined in nightlife and sexual culture.
“It’s almost like some people kind of see it as, ‘that’s just what we do,’” said Amber Heiler, clinical supervisor on the Behavioral Health team at Mazzoni Center. “Obviously not all men who have sex with men are using drugs, they’re not using meth. But there is a small portion of the community that is kind of like, ‘that’s just what we do, it makes sex fun.’”
Heiler believes that the interconnection between sex and meth use has to be addressed in its own right, she said.
“The two are so closely intertwined,” Heiler said. “That’s not getting addressed. Or it’s kind of lumped into, ‘well, when people are using, they engage in risky behaviors, it’s just part of it.’ But it’s really unique to this specific drug, this specific population. I think less people are recovering. I do see people all the time who will get a few weeks away from the drug and then they’re right back in it.”
Side effects from meth use include decreased hunger, insomnia, anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations, and elevated heart rate and blood pressure, among others. Long term use can result in irreversible brain, liver, or kidney damage, severe tooth decay, and a higher chance of suffering from a stroke.
Beyond its prevalence among MSM, meth use is becoming a nationwide epidemic, Heiler added. “We’ve focused so much time and money and energy on the opioid epidemic. We can’t treat methamphetamine dependency the same way we’ve treated opioid dependency. I think that we need to start shifting our focus to how we can successfully treat folks that are using meth.”
Michele Zipkin is a reporter for the Philadelphia Gay News, where this story first appeared.
