Meth without GHB is like 'coffee without cream'
ebar.comJustin used to sell "Happy Meals" for $135: an ounce of G, an eighth of meth, and two to three Viagra. The meth pumps your brain with dopamine, the G makes you horny, and the Viagra allows you to stay erect."It's all the things that make you feel happy and loved and then also with the added boost so that you can perform," said Justin, who asked that his last name not be published.For gay men in San Francisco, the "methamphetamine problem" is much more than a single drug.
It's about Gamma hydroxybutyrate, GHB or G, which is often used concurrently with meth, and it's also about sexual and mental health.
This trio — co-addiction, sex, and trauma — are fueling the demand for Happy Meals. "The majority of gay men I've worked with have also used G at least some point with the crystal [meth]," said Kevin Shone, the supervising substance use counselor with the UCSF Alliance Health Project.
He has been working with meth users for over 20 years in Los Angeles and San Francisco.Because the high from meth is so extreme, he explained, many users experience a debilitating sense of depression that can last as long as a week.
