Rapid assessment of crystal methamphetamine and GHB use in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in New South Wales

NDARC Technical Report No. 235 (2005)

In recent years there has been an increase in concern about the extent of use and harms related to the use of crystal methamphetamine and GHB in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community in NSW. Anecdotal reports of an increase in the use of these drugs has been mirrored by reports of harms related to the use of these drugs that has included concerns about GHB overdose, reports of increased sexual risk behaviours among persons using crystal methamphetamine, and concerns about increases in problematic use of crystal methamphetamine.

This report is the result of a rapid assessment conducted jointly by the AIDS Council of New South Wales (ACON) and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) that aimed to do the following:

1. Review the existing literature on the effects of GHB and crystal methamphetamine and harms related to their use, with a particular focus upon evidence from GLBT populations;
2. Summarise existing data on the extent of use of these drugs in the GLBT community in NSW;
3. Conduct interviews with key experts working within the GLBT community, who had knowledge about trends in use and harms related to the use of these drugs, as well as obtain information from the GLBT community itself;
4. Summarise existing programmes designed to address the harms related to the use of these drugs; and
5. Consider the implications of this exercise for future research, public health interventions, and programme development.

Citation: Degenhardt, L., McGuigan, D. and Clayton, S. (2005) Rapid assessment of crystal methamphetamine and GHB use in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in New South Wales, Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.