Free syringes dished out to gay men amid concerns about 'sex drug' overdoses

Hand-outs: Doctors are giving gay men free syringes in the hope of cutting down on accidental overdoses of recreational "sex drugs"
Corbis
Ross Lydall @RossLydall15 January 2016

Doctors are issuing free syringes to gay men who use the sex drugs GHB and GBL amid mounting concerns at the number ending up in A&E after life-threatening overdoses.

The initiative comes as emergency doctors at St Thomas’ hospital — the nearest A&E to the Vauxhall gay scene — revealed they were treating one patient a day who has taken the illegal substances, dubbed G or liquid ecstasy.

The Burrell Street sexual health centre in Southwark is providing one-millilitre syringes to prevent users exceeding a normally safe dose of the class-C drugs.

The liquids are normally mixed in drinks, making it harder to measure the dosage.

Robert Palmer, lead adviser and specialist psychotherapist in the Guy’s and St Thomas’ sexual health department, told the Standard: “We have had a large number of presentations, particularly at weekends but also throughout the week, of young gay men in A&E who have collapsed with coma associated with the use of G, which they are not measuring properly.

“We have become very concerned about this. Not only does it mean that other patients won’t get these beds, we are aware there have been a number of deaths across the country due to G.”

The use of GBL (gamma-butyrolactone acid) and GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) is increasingly common in the “chemsex” scene.

So-called “slamming” parties, or gay orgies, can last for the entire weekend.

The drugs lower inhibitions, leading users to have multiple partners and unprotected sex. Side effects of the drugs can be exacerbated when mixed with alcohol or other stimulants.

Clinicians hope that users will obtain the “safe” syringes, which do not have a needle, when they visit Burrell Street’s counsellors, psychotherapists and health advisers.

Mr Palmer said it was vital to adopt a non-judgmental approach to helping G users. “What we are seeing at the sexual health department is the fallout from using the drug,” he said. “People come and see us once they have ‘come down’ and started to feel more normal.

“They are concerned about the sex they have had or, if they have blacked out, are concerned what might have happened to them.

“If you tell somebody not to do something, they generally become more likely to do it. We are trying to find ways to help them consider safer ways of using the drugs.

“You are more likely if you are using these drugs, which are disinhibiting, to have the kind of sex you wouldn’t have if sober — condoms not used or more sexual partners.”

Dr David Wood, consultant physician and clinical toxicologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “Between October 2013 and September 2014 we saw nearly 300 GHB/GBL overdose-related presentations in our emergency department.

“It’s crucial that if anyone is concerned that someone they are with may have overdosed, that they call an ambulance to bring them to A&E for urgent medical attention.”

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