Suicide Tuesday: Gay Men and the Crystal Meth Scare

by Duncan Osborne

Crystal methamphetamine, also known as "crystal meth," has rocked national news headlines as the often deadly party drug of choice for gay and bisexual men. The recent media blitz around the so-called "AIDS supervirus" was only one of virtually thousands of earlier stories that laid the blame for an outbreak of new HIV transmission among gay men on impaired judgment brought about by crystal meth use. The low-priced stimulant -- which can be snorted, smoked, ingested, or injected -- increases its user's heart rate, blood pressure, and stamina, while decreasing the need for food and sleep. Health experts estimate that 22 percent of all gay men have tried crystal meth at least once. Heterosexuals, including teenage girls, have also joined the millions of crystal meth users and addicts. In Suicide Tuesday, Duncan Osborne, the leading journalist on the topic of gay men and crystal meth, offers a critical, clear-eyed look on the history of crystal meth, its effect on gay men, its alleged link to HIV transmission, the gay community's response to the reported epidemic, as well as the media's role in fostering public awareness but also sex panic among gay people.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786716169
• ISBN13: 9780786716166
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
• Length: 179 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A thoroughly-researched, hard-hitting work of journalism

Osborne, in Suicide Tuesday, ventures into controversial territory: the behavior of gay men in relation to HIV-transmission, the correlation between that and crystal meth use, and the various levels of media response to both. I found this book both an engaging and enlightening read. Of particular interest are Osborne's insights into the national media's tendency to latch onto anything that might be sensationalized into hysteria, as well as the tendency of factions of the gay community to do the same. Part of his message is that these two tendencies are off-target and harmful: hysteria rarely - if ever - leads to solutions. This author very carefully documents his sources and, as a result, presents a well-informed, compelling case. The point here is that, while crystal meth is clearly a very dangerous drug, embracing the tempting and convenient media hysteria surrounding it, and hysterias such as the strand of "super"-HIV, are only distracting the gay community from finding productive ways to address its problems. Suicide Tuesday is about crystal meth use within the gay community, but it's also about the history of the gay community and its response to the AIDS crisis over the past twenty-five years. It's an important book, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.