Chicago study
shows 11% of gay men have used meth

Eleven percent of respondents to Project CHAT, a Chicago health department survey of 1,147 gay and bisexual men in the city, said they have used crystal meth at least once within the past year, the Chicago Free Press reports. Of the Chicago meth users, 20% reported being weekly users of the drug, 22% were HIV-positive, and 40% had unprotected anal sex with casual partners. Only 8% of gay and bisexual meth nonusers surveyed reported being HIV-positive, and only 16% of nonusers reported unprotected anal sex with casual partners. Gay meth users also were three times more likely than nonusers to be infected with syphilis or gonorrhea and were four times more likely to meet sex partners at sex clubs and bathhouses. Overall, gay and bisexual men were shown to be seven times more likely to have used meth in the past year than heterosexual Chicago men. (Advocate.com)