Drugs & Alcohol

Recreational drugs and alcohol play an important part in the lives of many gay people. Although drugs and alcohol are often used responsibly and do no serious harm to an individual, this is not always the case. There are numerous related issues, such as legality, impact on sexual health, and the dangers of date-rape drugs.

Our section drug information provides details on individual drugs, including cannabis and ecstasy, and gives often-used slang or alternative names. If you need information about the local drug support services available to you, click here.

Those living with HIV need to be especially aware of the potential effects of using recreational drugs – see our section on drugs and HIV.

We also have a short guide to how drug and alcohol use could affect your sexual behaviour.

In June 2005 Men's Sexual Health (at the time called Gay Men’s Health) launched Outing Drugs, a report giving the findings of its drugs and alcohol needs assessment. The report is available in PDF format here.