Meth – Documentary: Gay Men and the Meth Scene

Posted: August 25th, 2021

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Meth – Documentary: Gay Men and the Meth Scene

1.  Pay attention to race and class. What population is this film about?  Is the scene racially or class inclusive from what you can tell? 

This film is about young adult males, mostly drawn from the Caucasian race and a few Hispanics. They mainly come from the working class as one can hear most of them talking about losing a job and their inability to pay rent after they started taking crystal meth. In my view, this scene is not racially inclusive. Most of the people interviewed are Caucasians. There is not a single African American in the scene in spite of the widespread stereotype that African Americans are drug users.

2.  Describe the “scene” in the film.  What is reinforcing about both the drugs and the scene?  What it is about the drug and the scene that keeps people coming back to it? 

(Remember what Gabor Mate said about addiction:  What does the addiction do for the people in the film?)

The scene in the film is about people who are hooked to the crystal meth. Some of them have the desire to stop but they just can’t bring themselves to do it. The drug has in some way changed their way of thinking. They do not imagine a life without drugs. Addiction forces people to quit their jobs while others sell the commodities they own to get some money to buy drugs.

3.   The characters in the film discuss their “poly drug use”. What are the various drugs some of them use in combination with meth?

The characters have used several drugs in combination with meth. Most of them have used ecstasy, cocaine, ka, and geeze.

4.  What are some of the life experiences, hardships, feelings, and psychological struggles that caused the characters to want to do meth?

Most of the characters were driven to do meth by the desire to be acceptable. Most of them were sex addicts before they started doing drugs and needed something that could boost their self-esteem. Others felt that they were not living life to the fullest. Some felt that they had not performed well in school and wanted to compensate for their inadequacy. They wanted to be like some of their friends who were already doing drugs. They wanted the life that using drugs promised. A life that was full of pomp and unending parties.

5. What were some of the negative consequences/effects of meth on the characters?  What did the addiction lead to in their lives?

Addiction affected the lives of the characters in significant ways. Most of them ended up losing their jobs which were their sole sources of income. They were, therefore, unable to pay their bills and were often evicted from their houses. They moved to cheaper houses and eventually became homeless. They lost the trust of their family members as a result of doing drugs. In addition, they became paranoid because they lived in fear of getting discovered. The constant desire for being high forced them to engage in unsafe sex and ended up contracting diseases such as gonorrhea and HIV/AIDs.

6. What other co-occurring addictions are mentioned by the characters besides meth addiction?   

In addition to meth addiction, almost all the characters were also addicted to sex and pornography. They report that they would spend the day watching pornographic films as they smoked. Others report addiction to circuit parties and sex clubs.

7.  How does the mother of the meth dealer deal with her son’s addiction? What boundaries did she set?  How does the addicted son feel after his mother’s discussion of his addiction?  

The mother of the meth dealer tries to get the State to facilitate the rehabilitation of her son. However, her son is sent to what they call a correctional facility but she does not believe any correction ever happens there. She declares that if her son ever goes back into doing drugs and gets rearrested, she would never pick calls and never visit him in prison. The son is guilty and feels that if his mother was to discover the truth, it would kill her.

8.  What happens in the gay scene in the 1980s?  How does this affect those men who were using meth, or who hadn’t started yet?

The gay scene in the 1980s is dramatically affected by the advent of HIV/AIDs. For those were already taking meth, it was a call for them to get tested because most were already engaging in irresponsible sex. Those who had not started yet were fearful of the disease and most shied away from it.

9.  How do the men describe meth?  What words or phrases do they use?

Some describe meth as Christo. Others call it Satan while some refer to it as the Dark Lord.

10.  How does meth affect the interpersonal relationships of the men in the film? 

The men in the film lose the trust of the members of their immediate families. They have no time to spend on festivities such as Thanksgiving and would rather spend time in sex clubs and circuit parties. They also become withdrawn with most of them spending their time indoor watching pornographic films.

11.  Are any of the men in treatment?  If so, what type?  Have any of the men been able to recover from their addictions?

Some of the men are on treatment while others have simply decided not to give up their addictions. To begin with, most of them are on treatment for HIV. One of them is attending alcoholic anonymous meetings for psychotherapy. Another has decided to join a rehabilitation center where he hopes to come out and shape his life. One of the men claims not have done drugs for more than a year. Thus, one can say that some of the men have managed to recover from the