Sexual Effects of Drugs

Alcohol
Shakespeare once said of alcohol that “lechery…it provokes and unprovokes; it provokes the desire but it takes away the performance (Shakespeare).” The Bard’s immortal words still ring true today. Alcohol generally makes people more willing to have sex but less capable of the act.

In small amounts, alcohol can reduce inhibitions and increase sexual desire in both sexes. One man describes the increase in desire like this: “With alcohol there comes a rush, especially in the early stages. With that rush I want more rush to come. I’m looking for excitement.”

Although small amounts of alcohol may increase sexual excitement, it does not necessarily increase sexual arousal. Even in small doses alcohol causes men’s erections to be less firm.

In larger doses alcohol reduces sexual arousal in both sexes. In men, alcohol causes impotence through several means. Long-term use of alcohol reduces testosterone levels and increases estrogen levels, which can result in impotence. Short-term use can cause transient (temporary) impotence through alcohol’s sedative effect. Additionally, alcohol can affect the nerves of the penis, causing neurogenic impotence.

Alcohol reduces sexual arousal in women as well as men. Alcohol can reduce vaginal lubrication by causing the body to send less blood to the genital region. In moderate or large quantities, alcohol can make orgasm difficult to achieve for women, just as it can for men.

Hormonal changes caused by long-term alcohol use can cause a reduction in libido, in addition to causing impotence. Using alcohol in combination with other depressants can amplify this effect.

Alcohol can interfere with the production of sperm in men. Alcohol use by men can cause abnormalities in sperm, making them less motile. When alcohol-effected sperm causes a pregnancy, there is a greater likelihood of miscarriage or birth defects.

And men agree that sex is less enjoyable when under the influence of alcohol, because alcohol makes the penis less sensitive and because it makes men take longer to orgasm. Men are also often less interested in pleasing their partner when drunk.

Amyl Nitrate and Butyl Nitrate (Poppers)
Poppers are often used as sexual enhancers, because they cause a feeling of heat and excitement which some feel makes sex more enjoyable. Although they can be legally purchased, poppers can increase the risk of heart failure.

Amphetamines
Like alcohol, amphetamines, including methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy), “provoke the desire but take away the performance.” Amphetamines can increase one’s desire for sex. A male amphetamine user reports that, while amphetamines do not make him physically aroused, if he starts to think about sex while under the influence of amphetamines, he begins obsessing on sex and can’t sleep until he has had an orgasm.

In men, amphetamines often make achieving and maintaining an erection difficult. Conversely, in moderate doses, amphetamines occasionally cause priapism, a painful erection that will not go away on its own.

Male amphetamine users report that amphetamines cause shrinkage. Because of the erection difficulties and shrinkage amphetamines cause, men on amphetamines often find masturbation easier than sex.

In spite of the erection difficulties amphetamines cause, male amphetamine users find it possible, although difficult, to achieve orgasm while flaccid when they are on amphetamines. Some men report that they have never been able to do this, except when on amphetamines.

Men generally find it very difficult to ejaculate while on high doses of amphetamines. Some people see this as an advantage, because it allows men to last longer during sex. However, this side effect can also be very frustrating. Some men say that while masturbating on amphetamines it “feels like you’re gonna cum at any second, but you don’t.” They feel that the physical sensation of sexual stimulation is better while on amphetamines, but the overall experience is less enjoyable. “After a while, it’s like you just want it to be over with.”

Ejaculation can cause mild discomfort to men on amphetamines. Male amphetamine users report that ejaculation feels equally good and satisfying whether on or off amphetamines, but the testicles feel uncomfortable after ejaculating while on amphetamines.

In very high doses, amphetamines can cause spontaneous orgasm. However, doses this high are extremely dangerous, as they can cause convulsions, heart failure, stroke and death.

Cocaine
Both amphetamines and cocaine are stimulants, so the effects of cocaine are similar to the affects of amphetamines. Like amphetamines, cocaine can cause erectile dysfunction and, in moderate doses, priapism. As with amphetamines, men generally find it very difficult to ejaculate while on high doses of cocaine, which some see as an advantage, and some find frustrating. Finally, in very high doses, cocaine can cause spontaneous orgasm, but doses this high can be fatal.

In small doses, cocaine causes excitement and euphoria, which the user may interpret as sexual excitement. However, chronic heavy use of cocaine can lower the libido . Because cocaine is addictive, the desire for cocaine may eventually overpower any desire for sex.

Cocaine is a local anesthetic. When applied to the skin, it reduces sensitivity. Some men take advantage of this effect by rubbing the drug on their penises so as to last longer during sex. This reduces the pleasure that the man receives, causing him to take longer to reach orgasm. The same effect can be achieved legally and relatively inexpensively through anesthetizing creams available in many sex toy stores.

Heroin
Heroin can reduce sexual responses in both sexes. Men on heroin have difficulty achieving erections and ejaculating, while women on heroin produce less vaginal lubrication and have more difficulty reaching orgasm. Heavy use of heroin can lower the libido.

GHB
In small doses, the effects of GHB are similar to those of alcohol. At these doses, GHB lowers inhibitions and increases sexual desire. However, the potency of this drug is often unpredictable, and in doses only slightly larger than are taken recreationally, it can cause the user to vomit or pass out and can even result in death. GHB is particularly dangerous in combination with alcohol and other depressants.

GHB is clear, odorless, and almost tasteless. Because the drug is not easily detected, and because of its sedative affect, it is sometimes used as a tool for date rape. The assaulter can secretly put the drug into the victim’s drink, and rape the victim when s/he is unconscious. Victims of this sort of date rape often do not later remember that they have been assaulted.

Nicotine
Nicotine can affect erectile tissue and the muscles involved in producing an erection, thus causing impotence. Men who smoke tobacco are twice as likely to be impotent as non-smoking men of the same age. Using nicotine in combination with cardiac drugs, antihypertensive medications or vasodilators drastically increases a man’s probability of complete impotence.

Tobacco can cause men to produce fewer sperm, and can cause deformities in the remaining sperm. These deformities reduce the motility of the sperm, and in pregnancies caused by these deformed sperm there is a greater chance of miscarriage or health problems for the fetus. Children whose fathers have smoked tobacco at some point have a greater risk of cancer, even if the father stopped smoking before the child was conceived.

Marijuana
For the first half hour after consuming marijuana, the drug causes excitement and euphoria and increases the user’s heart rate. The user may interpret these effects as sexual excitement. However, after half an hour, marijuana has a sedative effect.

Long-term use of marijuana generally has a negative effect on sexuality. Chronic heavy use of marijuana can lower the libido. There is some evidence that it can cause erectile dysfunction as well. In women, marijuana can disrupt the menstrual cycle.

Long-term use of marijuana can lower sperm production or cause sperm to develop abnormally. Long-term use can also lower testosterone levels. Both of these effects go away after marijuana use ceases.

Many people find sex under the influence of marijuana to be especially enjoyable. According to Adverse Drug Effects by Jennifer Kelly, marijuana “enhances sensory experiences, and so is described by some as an aphrodisiac.” One marijuana user claims, “Marijuana makes everything feel more sensual. That includes touch, music and definitely taste; and definitely for not just the orgasm, but the entire sexual experience. When both partners are under the influence of marijuana and naked and horny and rubbing their bodies together, it feels like it’s the first time they’ve ever been naked and horny and rubbing their bodies together.”

Some feel that marijuana makes orgasms longer and more intense. This may be a result of the distorted sense of time that marijuana use causes. Studies have found no measurable differences in the length or intensity of the orgasms of people on marijuana, even when the subjects felt that their orgasms had been longer and more intense.

Marijuana does not always make sex more enjoyable. Marijuana sometimes causes nervousness and self-consciousness, especially in people who are unfamiliar with the drug or are in unfamiliar situations. These emotions can interfere with sexual desire. Marijuana also impairs one’s motor skills, making the user clumsy, which can damage one’s performance during sex.

Viagra
Viagra is intended to treat erectile dysfunction and other erection problems in men. It does so by increasing blood flow to the penis. Viagra will not have this effect unless the man is sexually excited. Therefore, it is only helpful to men with physical reasons for their erection problems, and is not effective in treating erection difficulties that have psychological roots. However, one user of Viagra reports that the drug can indirectly alleviate some such problems. When not on Viagra, if he noticed that his erection was starting to get a little less firm, he would become anxious, and the anxiety would cause him to lose his erection all together. When on Viagra, he would never even start to lose his erection, so the anxiety would never occur in the first place and could not cause him to lose his erection.

Heroin: Brief History, Law

What is heroin

Heroin (diamorphine hydrochloride) is produced by processing raw opium, a natural substance found in oriental opium poppies. It's a depressant drug so its properties are basically the opposite of a stimulant drug, such as amphetamine. Because heroin is a "narcotic analgesic", it numbs the brain and body and kills pain.

How heroin works

As a depressant drug, heroin dulls the central nervous system:

• the heart beats more slowly
• breathing slows down and becomes shallower, so less oxygen is taken in
• blood pressure falls.

The heroin effect

The heroin effect is big - bigger than almost any other drug. It's a really powerful feeling that has no comparison in normal life. When heroin is injected intravenously, the "hit" is almost instantaneous, but even when it's smoked it only takes a few seconds.

• Feelings of euphoria and waves of incredible well-being flood in. All pain - physical and mental - disappears.
• The addictive effect is that you really love yourself.
• In small quantities heroin makes people very talkative, energized, impassioned and confident.
• Larger quantities send people into a trance-like state - they lose themselves in an interior world and they can't and don't want to communicate with anyone.
• The initial "rush" is followed by a mellow, chilled-out feeling that makes the world look rosy.
• The heroin effect starts to wear off after 1-2 hours, depending on tolerance levels and how often it's used. It will have worn off completely after anything from 3-6 hours.

Form
Heroin comes in three forms: brown, china white and pharmaceutical heroin.

Brown

• The most common form, this is in fact diamorphine base - the hydrochloride bit has been removed.
• It's a brown powder, although the colour can vary from creamy white to dark coffee. The lighter the colour, the higher the heroin content.
• Brown is low-grade, messy, dirty stuff. The heroin content varies from 10 to 60 per cent. The rest is rubbish, "cut" with the heroin to bulk out the quantity.
• Brown is smoked - it should never be injected.

China white

• Found as grey granules that look a little like instant coffee.
• Although china white is smoked, it can also be injected.

Pharmaceutical heroin
Pure heroin for medical use, it comes as a pure white powder or tablets, or as ampoules of clear liquid.

Brief history

Heroin has a long history. The first source was opium from poppies around 6000 BC; the Greeks recorded opium addiction in the third century BC. The Chinese first inhaled it in the 17th century. In 16th-century Europe, Paracelsus invented laudanum - an opium-based medicine that was used for painkilling and sedation well into the 19th century, until morphine was developed. A more powerful variant, diamorphine (heroin), appeared in Germany in 1874 and by the 1930s it had overtaken opium as the cheaper narcotic.


HEROIN AND METHADONE KILL AROUND 200 PEOPLE EVERY YEAR IN THE UK

Hygiene

• The syringe and any other paraphernalia (the works) must be sterile - and a fresh needle used every time.
• Used needles should be disposed of safely - never leave them lying around.
• Needle exchanges supply sterile needles. Local health authorities or the National Drugs Helpline will have details of the nearest needle exchange. Never share someone else's works - that's how infections like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C are spread.

Speedballs
Don't on any account take a "speedball", a mixed injection of heroin and cocaine. It's very dangerous as the two drugs worsen each other's effects.

A smack in the face

Overdosing If you're not used to taking heroin, overdosing is a real possibility - especially if you're injecting. When you've overdosed, your breathing slows right down and breaths become so shallow that your body doesn't get enough oxygen. Unconsciousness follows and if you don't get to a hospital quickly, your breathing may stop altogether and you'll die.

Nausea and vomiting First-time users could easily be sick and if you pass out, there's a real risk that you could choke on your vomit.

Self-neglect If you're an addict, heroin quickly becomes the only thing in your life. You lose weight and become malnourished because you don't eat, and you look even worse because you can't be bothered to wash. But you won't care about any of this - getting your next hit will be the only thing that matters.

Abscesses, sores and open wounds With heavy use, these develop at injection sites - they're unattractive and very painful. Crime Often the only way to pay for a habit is to steal, and addicts will steal from just about anywhere. Some are so desperate they even steal from their own families. Crime only leads to one place - prison.


Smoking heroin

• Known as "chasing the dragon" or "booting", this method is far less dangerous than injecting and gives a similar hit - it's intense and felt very quickly.
• Heroin is occasionally smoked in a pipe or hand-rolled cigarette, or heated from below on tin-foil.

Injecting heroin - the dangers

• Injecting directly into the vein is the most dangerous way of taking heroin. It must be made into a liquid first. China white and pharmaceutical heroin will dissolve in water. Brown has to be dissolved in an acid - dissolved vitamin C powder is the least dangerous.
• Dissolving crushed tablets is even worse. It leaves undissolved grains that cause blockages in small blood vessels, leading to abscesses and infection. To try to prevent this some users draw the liquid into a syringe through a cigarette filter - this doesn't make it safe

Stay out of trouble
Heroin is dangerous: you can't guarantee your safety, but the risks can be lowered.

Don't inject Smoking provides a similar hit and is far safer. NEVER share needles.

Don't leave needles lying around Dispose of them safely.
Know what you're taking There's no time for regrets if you overdose.

Don't top up You'll overdose.
Know your limits Tolerance drops if heroin isn't used for a while, so a "normal" quantity could kill.

Be sensible Don't drive, ride a bike or use machinery while on heroin.

Practise safe sex There's even more reason to use a condom because of the high incidence of HIV/AIDS among users

Never mix heroin with other drugs. Heroin is so powerful on its own that the addition of any other drug can kill..

THE COMFORT FROM HEROIN IS TEMPORARY- REALITY WILL SOON HIT HARD
Signs of addiction

• You're on a slippery slope if: you find it hard to get to sleep
• you get pains in your muscles
• you feel very sick and constipated.

No excuses
Some people blame their dependency on their "addictive personality". There's no such thing: it's just an excuse to avoid looking at the real reasons behind their drug dependency.

Heroin tolerance
Users quickly gain a tolerance to heroin so the body learns to cope with it and needs more to feel the original euphoric rush.

• Eventually, it can get to the stage where even high doses merely take away the pain and craving - there is no euphoria.
• BUT if you stop using heroin, tolerance falls quickly. If you start again, your body won't be able to cope with the same amount and you could overdose.
• Smoking heroin keeps tolerance at a more even level than if it's injected.

Kicking the habit

If you're dependent on heroin, it'll be difficult to come off it. BUT it isn't a lost cause. Many people have given it up - you can too. First you've got to accept certain things:

• only you can do your detox - others just help
• you have to want to come off
• do it for yourself - nobody else matters.

DETOXIFICATION
No-one should kick heroin by themselves; if you or someone you know has a heroin habit, get professional help. Remember that all drug agencies and medical services will treat your case in complete confidence. The first few days are the hardest. Once you're through them, hang in there. You've got this far, you can pull it off.

STAYING OFF HEROIN
This is the toughest part.
Keep busy Get a job or do community work. Take up hobbies.
Stay away from anything that reminds you of heroin Steer clear of other users and places where there are drugs.
Get support When your will-power is slipping, talk to someone: friends, family or professional drug organizations.

Heroin and addiction

Heroin is severely addictive: users can develop a physical and psychological dependency on the drug, despite having been sure they could stay in control. The less stable and good your life is, the greater the chance of becoming addicted to the warmth and detachment from reality that heroin brings.

What it's like to be addicted

• Your body needs heroin just to feel normal.
• Your physical craving becomes so strong that your whole life revolves around finding the money and the drugs for your next hit.
• The psychological craving is as strong as the physical. You're terrified of being without heroin. You end up more fearful of life and more isolated with a heroin habit than you ever were before you got one.

The Law
Heroin is a Class A drug. It's illegal all over the world and having, using or supplying it are seen as very serious offenses everywhere.

• The penalty is sometimes a very long prison sentence and a fine.
• In some countries, possessing or supplying heroin may even carry the death penalty.

If something goes wrong

hitting an artery
If you hit an artery when injecting, staunch the flow of blood by applying firm pressure over the injury, holding the limb as high as possible. Call an ambulance or go straight to the hospital Accident and Emergency department.

unconsciousness
If your friend is breathing, place her in the recovery position. Call an ambulance. Tell the medical staff what your friend has taken - it could save her life.

• Be prepared to resuscitate your friend if she stops breathing.
• If your friend is sick while unconscious check that she's still breathing.