Meth Madness

The following is a reprinted post from lifelube. it is accurate and thoughtful in my opinion. i do, however, believe that meth may inevitably lead to the death of a life(style) that a user embodies. priorites change, perceptions shift, and realities alter. in other words, there are sacrifices involved with drug use and with this one, they may be unalterably high stakes. there is a high concentration of drug and alcohol use in the lgbt community worldwide. oppression, bigotry, self-loathing, religious persecution no doubt pave the way to a life out of balance which addiction and abuse mirror. any approaches addressing these issues do need to be encouraged and supported.

2010-02-24


To the editor:

We are writing to counter the recurring and disturbing community discussion of crystal-meth use by gay men n Chicago. The unfortunate and inaccurate message that "Meth = Death" characterizes this discussion.

Fact: Approximately 90 percent to 95 percent of gay men in Chicago don't use crystal methamphetamine.
Fact: Health Department research indicates that crystal use has decreased. Among hundreds of men surveyed, 4 percent said they recently used it ( as compared to 10 percent of those surveyed five years ago ) .


Fact: National and local data indicate that only a minority of people who try a drug, including potent drugs like methamphetamine, go on to become regular users and/or dependent.


Fact: Of the small ( but important nonetheless ) percentage of Chicago gay men who are addicted to crystal, and are experiencing health and financial crises, relationship problems, and legal difficulties, most of them won't die.


Meth does not equal death.


Should we continue to challenge the allure of substances and behaviors that keep us as a community from being our best? Yes. Should we promote messaging that seeks to promote health and wellness? Yes. Can we have community dialogue and get each others‚ attention without over sensationalizing? We can and we must.
Why not emphasize our community's courage and resilience in spending the past five years tackling this issue and our accomplishments in reducing use?
Misleading and deceptive communications on such an important matter do not serve our collective physical, mental, spiritual or sexual health needs. They don't enlighten. Telling the truth is essential, involves nuance, and our community deserves no less.
For those who use the drug problematically, treatment is available and recovery is possible. Chicago has a wealth of resources to help gay men addicted to crystal, including programs at Howard Brown Health Center, Haymarket Center and Valeo at Lakeshore Hospital. Additionally, there are groups like Crystal Meth Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous that offer important support to people who want to get and stay sober.
Crystal meth is an issue of concern for those who use the drug, for those who love them, and for the community which is their home. Chicago remains committed to helping these people receive the support they need to minimize harms, reduce use or quit altogether.


Signed,


Project CRYSP ( LifeLube's momma)


projectcrysp@gmail.com

today's sound choice is radiohead with "all i need"

diggin' ed's head

i have to nod to lifelube again. this time regarding the recovery related posts from ed negron. he is a person in recovery who is sharing his journey and insight. somedays i find that what others are saying has more merit than i can seem to muster. you can check out ed's here.

The 12 Steps: A historic and analytic explanation

[Channeled via 12 Steps Workbook: The Proactive Twelve Steps by Serge Prengel]

Since the beginning of our work-in we have been doing a lot of work, good work to, on our inner self, keep it up. This is the first major effort we’ll make at formal self-examination. Self-examination, and the resulting self-knowledge, is critically important to building our inner strength. It is also a vitally important component of all spiritual disciplines. It’s time to own our shit. In order to move forward you have to own up to your mistakes and stop blaming others for them. Without doing this we are bound to continue to repeat those old mistakes over and over again.

Step 4

I honestly look at the effects of my actions on others and myself.

Original wording (AA):
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Honesty

When things aren't working well, the temptation is to hunker down, feel defensive, and try to prove why what you're doing should work. Of course, this won't magically make things work.

Step 4 is about stepping away from the heat of battle, and taking a non-partisan look at your own actions.

Does it mean that you were bad, and we now have to become good?

No, you're certainly not trying to become an angel (or to convince yourself that you’re one). In fact, if you try to go that route, your life somehow becomes even more unmanageable. All you have to do is try to not be so defensive. That is, try to just face the reality of what you do without jumping to justify it in the same breath. The original 12 steps called Step 4 a "fearless" moral inventory. The fearlessness lies in that you accept to face reality, whatever it is.

Beyond good and evil

What makes this kind of honesty possible is removing the notion of judgment - that is, the potential for blame and shame. Step 4 is about looking at facts - as opposed to adding overlays of judgment and blame onto them in such a way that the facts become obscured.

There is a big difference between being in Criminal Court and doing Step 4:
- In Criminal Court, the rule is for the indicted person to avoid responsibility.
- In Step 4, your goal is to work toward taking responsibility for what you do.

Why would you do that? It is a logical continuation of the leap of faith described earlier. Your hope is that, whatever you find out about yourself, it will be something that you can live with.

This will lead you to eventually get to know your true self - - and that this might turn out to be a better person than you thought you were!

Now it’s time to stop reading and start writing.

Get to work! You have an inventory to write.

today's sound choice is vintage ministry (1983) with "work for love" - before they went hardcore.... i saw them play this live on many occasions in my neighborhood. hope you have as much fun as i do hearing it...

this is how we do it

i got lifelubed this week.

what the hell is lifelube? in truth, i couldn't be more flattered. i have been following lifelube for quite some time now, and it has become one of my breaths of fresh air in cyberland.

the blog's focus is gay men's health, including but not limited to sexual health. considering the last 25 years of gay men's history, this is sorely underserved in a culturally competent manner. and lifelube is competent. there is a true admiration and affection for gay men in ways i don't even possess (probably due to internalized homophobia).

anyway, if you haven't seen lifelube, give them a visit. there is a connection to in depth research for rectal microbicidal research. given the state of the global state of AIDS, a lubricant with a virus killing agent may be one of the better hopes for squashing much of the pandemic.

currently there is a series on the blog title "how is ..... healthy?" here is my participation... "how is rod rushing healthy"

today's sound choice is montell jordan with "this is how we do it"

safe from harm

image credit: peter kent waddington

the swiss government made a statement last week that has created a ripple in the hiv/aids treatment and prevention world. i don't know what the outcome of all this is or will be. i do know that the messaging that is currently used by this industry (treatment and prevention) is pretty broken. it is based upon solutions that were decided upon during a time of crisis in our community. the messaging and the tactics for prevention haven't really changed much since then. and it certainly hasn't kept up with our community at all.

there is no longer a sense of urgency prevailing. no visible crisis. there is treatment available and the treatment has removed the concept of urgency right out of the picture. yes, gay men are still testing positive. however, it is viewed as a stigma more than a virus and has moved to the back shelf of importance in most gay men's lives.

i think dialogue that offers new ideas, new thoughts, new directions for conversations, and new ways for gay men to think about taking care of themselves and each other is what might be needed now. we have a good distance to go with regard to gay men's mental and physical wellness. we have been sidetracked so long now because of hiv. so much of our time has been spent in plugging the leaks and ignoring the weak spots. maybe discussions like these can help us move forward into more concrete ideas for planning our futures and helping to map a safer pathway for those young gay men to follow.

i'd love to know what you think.... lifelube post