BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCES OF METHAMPHETAMINE USE AMONG MSM

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BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCES
OF METHAMPHETAMINE USE AMONG MSM

• Perry N. Halkitis (USA)
• Daniel Siconolfi (USA)
• Maggie Chartier (USA)
• Robert W. Moeller (USA)

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Use of methamphetamine among gay men is twice
that of the national average
Iversen, L. (2006). Speed, Ecstasy, Ritalin The
Science of Amphetamines. Oxford, UK Oxford
University Press.
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Sources of Data

• Support for the previous assertion is NOT based
  epidemiological studies
• No federal data collection with regard to
  methamphetamine use and sexual orientation
• Based on numerous large and small scale
  behavioral studies
• Convergence of numerous sources provides support
  for this assertion

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Overview of Estimates

• Although no population-based data for
  methamphetamine use among gay, bisexual, and
  other MSM are available, estimates have ranged
  from
• 7.4 (Stall et al., 2001)
• 10.4 (Halkitis Parsons, 2002)
• 62 in a self-identified drug-using sample
  (Halkitis, Green, Carragher, 2005).

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National Estimates of Methamphetamine Use among
MSM
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YMS Amphetamine Use (lifetime)
Data Collection 1994-1998
n 814
n 1042
n 1259
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ByH Meth Use (Past 3 Months)
Data Collection 2005-2006
n 1148
n 1014
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Local Estimates
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MSM Amphetamine Use Los Angeles
Data Source CA MSM CT Clients in
2003-2004 (Caldwell, 2006)
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MSM Methamphetamine Use (past year) Miami
Data Source Miami Dade KAAB Survey, 2005
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MSM Methamphetamine Use (past 6 months) San
Francisco
N 1524(Bingham, 2005)
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MSM Methamphetamine Use (past month) North
Carolina
n 265
n 169
n 285
(Rhodes, 2006)
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New York City Data Battling HIV Where Sex Meets
Crystal Meth
Terry Evans, an outreach worker with the
Positive Health Project in Manhattan, browses gay
message boards to find black and Latino men using
crystal methamphetamine, then tries to give them
information about the drug and protected sex.
(NY Times, 2006)
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NY MSM Methamphetamine Use by Race/Ethnicity

• Greater or comparable use compared with White MSM

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Methamphetamine addiction is not just a gay
disease, although the public and media hysteria
in recent years has focused on just that.
Although my own work in this domain has been
nested in the context of gay life, I do not
believe that a true understanding of this drug
dilemma can be ascertained by focusing solely on
this sub-population. Moreover, such an approach
would function to pathologize a segment of the
population that has been overly pathologized. I
will, however, note that much of the behavioral
research that has been conducted in the last
decade has focused on the gay and bisexual male
population thus while this segment of the
population may appear to be over-represented in
this volume, it is mainly because studies
focusing on methamphetamine use among gay and
bisexual men constitute the majority of scholarly
work. As noted in the Foreword by Dr. Cathy
Reback, the intersection between methamphetamine
use and HIV transmission makes this drug
addiction different from most others. Given that
in the North America, Europe, and Australia, gay
men continue to constitute the population most
affected by HIV, it is reasonable that the bulk
of research on methamphetamine addiction would be
disproportionately centered on this segment of
the population.