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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2005)
iuly 1.2QÛ5’ JllSt OUt15 l?bliW!Mi4lnews T he M eth P resence Frontline experts agree that Portland lags in responding to crisis by Jaymee R. Cuti rystal methamphetamines effect “Mine is the typical story. I partied out of con on gay men has been covered trol, went to bathhouses and had nevei-ending locally and nationwide. Meth was sex with multiple partners,” said Motter, who Is on the agenda at the Center for an Oregon spokes mode I for the HIV Stops with Disease Control and Preventions Me campaign and co-chainnan of the HIV Plan 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference last ning Council. “At the time I didn’t disclose I was month in Atlanta and has been the topic of dis HIV-positive. Nobody ever asked, I never said, cussion recently by local law enforcement, treat which I think is pretty common.” ment facilities and prevention organizations. After a lifetime of drug experimentation, he The medias coverage of the drug and its says his addictive personality combined with the effect locally is so heavy, one network has even highly addictive qualities of meth are acutely to created a “Meth Watch” logo to accompany blame. each meth-related story. And yet with meth on Motter’s prison stint resulted from white col the minds of many gay Portlanders, who lar theft. He found acknowledge the drug is responsible for sobriety while in increases of HIV and other sexually prison four years ago. “I did things 1 never transmitted diseases, the drug rages on thought I would have at “party and play” sessions, where unprotected sex with multiple partners done, and I rational ized it away pretty eas is the norm. According to literature produced by ily,” he said. Industry profession Cascade AIDS Project, Outside In and Multnomah County, queer men who als agree that Portland is a few steps behind use meth are twice as likely to be HIV positive, nearly five times more likely to the meth epidemic, which is increasing in get syphilis and almost twice as likely to the city. get gonorrhea or chlamydia. CAP has Outside In has seen created a new Men’s Prevention and increases in its needle Wellness department to address meth addiction, among other topics. exchange program, though director Kathy “You have a lot of younger guys falling prey to destructive behavior. Younger Oliver cannot say whether meth is people flexing their independence and discovering themselves are naturally more responsible for the prone to experimentation,” said Thomas increase. When the Bruner, executive director of CAP. “Take program opened in some of those guys and put them in a gay 1989, it exchanged subculture that is largely sex, youth and less than 50,000 sy alcohol oriented, and is it any wonder ringes. That number some get sucked in?" has climbed every Meth addiction finds its root cause year; the agency now exchanges approxi in the myriad vulnerabilities affecting Needle exchange depositories mately 450,000 sy gay men—depression, oppression and are one indicator of rising meth ringes annually. homophobia—or perhaps a more sim use in Portland. “Cuts in the Ore ple explanation: Meth feels good, and gon Health Plan and cuts in direct treatment it’s addictive. Bruner tends to adhere to the latter philosophy. programs result in more people in the streets using drugs,” Oliver said. “Has there been an “I think it would be inaccurate to paint all increase in meth use among our clients? I can gay meth users with the same broad brush definitely say yes to that.” stroke. Some drug abuse is clearly linked to ASAP Treatment Services runs the Triangle mental health issues, but for some people, there Project, the only queer-specific drug treatment could be a much simpler reason. Apparently, in Portland. Though the program does not spe meth feels incredible, and it’s highly addictive. cialize in meth, coordinator Vai Lawson says So for some gay meth users, it might be as sim meth is responsible for the occurrence of HIV ple as that.” and other STDs in some of her clients. Conversely, the director of Q-LAND, a gay “In Portland, STDs have increased, as have men’s wellness organization, insists something HIV-positive clients, and much of that is a result deeper is at work. of the meth epidemic,” she said. “I call it the perfect storm of factors that Last month, representatives from local law have come together in the last six years to make enforcement, treatment and prevention agen meth very popular. One of them at the root is depression,” said Bart Church, whose organiza cies, along with 23 elected officials, met to cre ate a list of 15 recommendations to better get tion has run a successfill bar testing campaign. According to Church, a conservative govern control of the meth problem. The action plan ment breeding homophobia, outdated preven called for more open jail beds, longer sentences tion messages, unusually high percentages of for meth cooks, restoring the number of eligible depression and anxiety among gays and the emer Oregon Health Plan clients to 110,000 and the commitment from elected officials to take one gence of anonymous hookups via the Internet half-day each year to educate themselves about create a climate for self-medication with meth. drug prevention. John Motter, a former meth user, says depres According to Church, officials have not met sion played a part in his meth-fueled behavior, the call from a burgeoning meth crisis. which resulted in a fraud conviction that land “What we’re doing is wholly inadequate,” he ed him in prison for 13 months. 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