Pubdate: Tue, 09 Oct 2007
Source: New York Daily News (NY)
Copyright: 2007 Daily News, L.P.
Contact:  http://www.nydailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/295
Author: Dan Gesslein
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

STUDY LIFTS LID ON RAMPANT METH ABUSE

Valiere, a transgender dominatrix, couldn't control her  crystal meth 
addiction, which fueled day-long binges of  club hopping and sex.

She was finally forced to detox when it led to a health scare.

Valiere is a part of the Bronx's gay community, which  has been on 
the down-low for years because it has  little support politically or 
culturally.

But what it does have, according to a new survey, is a  significant 
methamphetamine-abuse problem.

The Bronx Community Pride Center recently completed the  Crystal 
Methamphetamine Outreach Campaign, a  three-month survey of 480 gay 
males in Bronx and  Manhattan clubs, gay chat rooms and events.

It found that meth use is as high in the Bronx as in  the rest of the city.

"The Bronx has never been studied in terms of its  crystal meth use. 
Most surveys have been targeting gay  white males in Chelsea," said 
Lisa Winters, executive  director of the Bronx Pride Center. "Most 
people  thought it wasn't a problem up here."

Besides gathering data on the prevalence of Bronx meth  use, survey 
director Zachariah Hennessey and outreach  coordinators informed 
interviewees that the euphoria  associated with use of the drug often 
leads to  unprotected sex.

"It's a long-lasting, euphoric high," he said. "There's  a sense of 
invincibility."

Valiere, a 22-year-old pre-op transgender who works in  a Wall Street 
law firm by day and as a dominatrix by  night, said there are many 
illegal nightclubs where  drug use, including crystal meth, is rampant.

She said one Bronx eatery would close at night and open  its basement 
to partygoers in a soundproof room as the  music, alcohol and drugs flowed.

Her work and clubbing took her to Bronx house parties  where group 
sex was commonly fueled by "power balls" -  a mixture of crystal meth 
and the date rape drug GHP.

"Your body accumulates so much energy you need to go  out. You want 
to party, to have sex. Everything is  amplified," Valiere said.

She said that what started with her as casual sniffing  soon turned 
into a $200 to $400 a day habit.

"I was smoking it. I was snorting it," she said. "It's  like I turned 
into Superwoman. I danced 41/2 hours and  then went to a rooftop 
party and danced all day."

Methamphetamine attacks fat cells and caused Valiere to  drop eight 
dress sizes.

Valiere said that last year during a meth binge, she  was up and 
clubbing for six days straight when she felt  sharp pains in her 
chest. Her left breast implant  ruptured and had to be replaced.

In order to undergo the surgery, she had to detox.
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