Michael Münsterjohann is head of the Berlin gay counselling and two colleagues run the therapy groups for addicts. Kriss Rudolph spoke to him about drug behaviour at parties and the associated dangers.
Apart from alcohol, which drugs are favoured in Berlin's gay party scene?
As I know from counselling, cocaine is still in demand, as is speed. In my opinion, ecstasy is currently less in circulation. Crystal meth is particularly popular in the sex sector - this drug initially provides stamina and peak performance; when it wears off, it has a sexually stimulating effect. For some time now, GHB or liquid ecstasy has also been used at sex parties - I had my first case here four years ago - and ketamine. Every drug has its time: people used to take LSD to alter their consciousness. Then, for a while, it was mainly feel-good drugs or contact drugs that dissolve inhibitions. Now many are looking for drugs such as GHB or crystal meth, which increase performance so that you can last longer during sex or partying. Always higher, better, faster. That's the spirit of the times, and gays are not detached from it. The bottom line is that drugs make me more persistent and less sensitive to pain when I take them. But also more sociable and sexually stimulated.
How exactly do these drugs work?
Crystal meth, for example, initially has a stimulating effect and is often consumed at parties, in clubs or at a rave, but with prolonged consumption of high doses it destroys the body, leading to brain damage or tooth loss, for example. GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid) has a stimulating effect in small doses - it also lowers inhibitions and causes sexual stimulation. Ketamine is actually a painkiller and anaesthetic, but it can easily be ordered online. Because it has a pain-relieving effect, it is welcome in certain practices, especially in the S/M scene.
What do you need to be aware of when using these drugs?
Of course, it always depends on who takes what, when and in what quantity. Anyone who takes drugs like GHB regularly will hopefully have a feeling for how much they can tolerate - it also depends on how they feel and how they are feeling on the day. If you can judge that - good. If not, you often end up in the hospital emergency room. I recently had a client here: He had woken up in a strange flat and didn't know what had happened. He had arranged to have an S/M session and had taken GHB. If you take too much, it can lead to a film tear. That's why he didn't know whether what happened last night was safe or not. So there are considerable health risks here.
What else can happen?
It becomes risky if you combine a drug such as GHB with alcohol or opiates. You also have to be very careful when taking medication, for example as part of HIV therapy or antihistamines for allergy sufferers: There is a risk of serious circulatory complications and even respiratory arrest. What you need to know about ketamine, for example: Due to the insensitivity to pain that this drug causes, there is also an increased risk of injury. However, this can be easily analysed for all substances on the www.drugscouts.de read more.
What about addiction to these drugs?
After prolonged and high doses of GHB, a psychological and perhaps also a physical dependency can develop. The drug then finds its way into everyday life: people take it at work, for example, to mask the withdrawal symptoms. Many men who come to us for counselling report these withdrawal symptoms. Ketamine can lead to gradual addiction, but more on a psychological level. And crystal meth is well known: It has a strong effect and is very quickly addictive. Crack is a big issue in the USA, but fortunately it only crops up very occasionally here.
But you wouldn't warn against these drugs per se?
It is a basic human need to experience intoxication, to overcome inhibitions or inferiority complexes. However, it is important to be well informed about what you are taking and where the dangers lurk. GHB or ketamine, for example, are not always easy to dose - the risk of overdosing is high. You also have to consider the development of tolerance: Where does it still work, where do I need more and more? I know that this questioning is often perceived as hostile to pleasure. You really want to let yourself go, that doesn't go together. Many people have all their friends at the parties - it's all about the weekend. It's a big challenge to decide: Do I want to watch what everyone else is doing without being there myself? Or do I stop going at all? But then I lose these contacts. If you party through every weekend and take drugs, but you're still hanging around at work on Mondays or Tuesdays, then you should know: No boss will put up with that for long.
Have drugs become more important when partying?
For visitors to public parties and sex parties, drugs are part of it. My subjective impression is that this has increased. Drugs are socially acceptable and accepted. However, we need to develop an attitude towards them. We often find here in counselling that many people have never had sex with others without using addictive substances. The question then arises, also here in therapy: What is so difficult about meeting someone else with a clear head and in real time? But those who come to us are usually one step ahead. Drug use has often already become a problem. The fear is then very great of not being able to perform, of not being able to hold out long enough without the substance. But there's another danger lurking: young gay men in particular who come to us with a recent HIV diagnosis have often been infected in a drug-related context.
Is it generally young gay men who take these drugs?
Young people are definitely more willing to experiment, but otherwise drugs are consumed by people of all ages. We gays are seen as trendsetters, and we certainly are when it comes to drugs. We like to try out new things.
How can you help clients with severe drug problems?
We have around 2,000 contacts a year. The gay counselling service offers therapy groups and the opportunity for one-to-one sessions. We can also arrange contacts in clinics. Most of the people who come to us have had a drastic experience: they have lost their job because of their drug use, suffer from depression, regularly end up in hospital and realise that they no longer have it under control. When people come here really broken, I often think: What are these men doing to themselves?
