Approximately 10% of gay men in London have used the recreational drug methamphetamine, according to a study published in the online edition of the journal Addiction. Use of methamphetamine by gay men has previously been linked to HIV risk behaviours by researchers in the United States.
Although investigators from the City University in London found a link between use of methamphetamine and unsafe sex, they were unable to establish a causal link between use of the drug and risky sex.
The investigators also found that use of methamphetamine formed part of a repertoire of drug use behaviour and the link between unsafe sex seen for methamphetamine was also present for other more widely used and less stigmatised recreational drugs, such as ecstasy.
Methamphetamine was recently reclassified as a Class A drug in the United Kingdom, but despite some sensationalist and alarmist media claims there is, in fact, very limited and conflicting evidence about the extent of its use by gay in the UK.
Investigators from London’s City University, who have undertaken extensive research into the sexual behaviour of gay men, recruited a total of 700 gay men to a study in an attempt to further understand the extent and implications of methamphetamine use by gay men in London. The men completed a questionnaire about their drug use and sexual behaviour. A total of 400 men were HIV-positive and were recruited at an HIV treatment centre, the remaining 300 HIV-negative men were recruited at a sexual health clinic and an HIV testing centre.
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