Guidance for Developing Resources
Focus on the facts and don’t over-glamorize crystal meth.
Be pragmatic and real about what the risks are — including social risks — and how it’s related to community. When talking about meth use, be sensitive and aware that just the conversation is enough to be triggering. Check in with the person you are speaking with often, and know when to stop or change the conversation, and when to come back to the topic. One of the only places for resources is Tweaker.org. Something more practical and fact-based would be helpful.
Online community is critical.
People are connecting online for sex and drugs so put resources where people can find them (and already are accessing them). Examples include online forums, “Ask Me Anything” aka AMAs, and Facebook Live for informal information and to permeate social networks.
Consider web comics and memes as educational tools.
Short and sweet information and tips about how to stay safe while using crystal meth. Consider using already-used symbols to make [it] pop out (diamonds ?, taglines and language/phrases, clouds ☁️, etc.).
Remember, when engaging Black and Latino MSM, nothing about crystal meth without sex.
Avoid focusing on very drug-specific tips and tricks that don’t consider the where and why we’re using to begin with.
Accessible mental health resources … for recreational users!
If folks want access to mental health treatment they feel they have to have severe mental health needs to get services. We need something in the in-between before it gets to that point.
Providers should engage from a full person approach.
Beyond recognizing that crystal meth use is linked to sex, there are a lot of other impacts on lives that are just as important. If you asked about job security, social relationships, and housing access as much as you asked about how many cigarettes a person smokes you’d get to understand more about the story — and destigmatize the process.
Like all the best harm reduction resources, centering the experience of people who use drugs to conceptualize and be part of the development of any guidance will be the most effective. National Harm Reduction Coalition recommends that future opportunities to develop these types of materials should be given to Black and Latino MSM with experience using crystal meth to develop the most culturally relevant and impactful products.
“Healing Justice calls on us to recognize that mental health for Black gay men using meth means more than just clinical support, it means community and systemic level support as well. Our efforts to support our community have to advocate for decriminalization, the expansion of care models, and create spaces as well as art that help our communities process the shame and stigma the so called ‘war on drugs’ has created for us. Anything less is only half the healing.” — Yolo Akili Robinson, Founder and Executive Director of Black Emotional Mental Health Collective (BEAM)
“We cannot consider the whole health of the gay Black and Latino community without acknowledging and addressing meth use and its impact on sex, relationships and healing; meth is a public health issue and a community issue. Our first step is to bring it to the forefront and eliminate the taboo of this conversation.” — Nathaniel Currie, DSW, MSW, LCSW