Chemsex hasn’t stopped being talked regarding for a few days. Well known for years by those who practice it, it is a new term for many people. Yet the practice is booming. But then, what is it?
Drugs and sex
But then, chemsex, what is it? The name comes from the contraction of the words chemicals and sex in English and “it is the use of illicit psychoactive products in a sexual context“, describes Aids. In general, “chemsexers” use drugs to increase their sexual performance, to feel more desire and pleasure and to increase sensations tenfold.
Often associated with relationships between men, thus participating in a form of stigmatization, this practice is nevertheless widespread in all types of relationships, whether heterosexual or homosexual, especially during libertine parties.
The products used
The psychoactives taken during chemsex are varied but we most often find synthetic cathinones such as 3-MMC or 4-MEC, for example. Cocaine, methamphetamines, ketamine, MDMA or GHB/GLB are also drugs used in this practice.
These products can be ingested orally but we also speak of “slam” when they are injected intravenously.
Prevention
If this taking of psychoactives is done in a framework of pleasure, it is not without danger since drugs are associated with it. “The products consumed in the context of chemsex are often addictogenic. They cause an irrepressible urge to consume much more than necessary to obtain the desired effects“, Accurate Aids. There are therefore several risks: dependence, overdose, feeling of isolation and mental malaise…
Associations such as Aides prevent this and offer helplines, discussion groups and discussions on messaging applications.
