In 2012, Gay Star News reported at least three separate deaths in the months of July, August and October where gay men died of suspected drug overdose in clubs and sex saunas.

The police response was to alert club-goers of possibly of tainted drugs, but to several community leaders that response was and continues to be insufficient.

This evening at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in South London, a group of panellists ranging from doctors to drag queens, club promoters and magazine editors, invited the public for an open discussion about casualties in clubs and saunas brought on by one party drug in particular: GHB.

Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB, is a drug used in both gay and straight club scenes, popular for its feelings of euphoria and ecstasy. In fact, GHB is often referred to as ‘liquid ecstasy.’ The concentrated drug requires ingestion with precise timing and amounts, or could otherwise easily lead to comas, overdose and death.

Professor David Nutt, a former advisor to the UK government’s Department of Health, published an editorial in 2009 where he suggests that ecstasy and GHB cause less physical harm and are less addictive than alcohol and tobacco. However, some medical officials believe that some of the drug-related deaths GSN reported last year are directly tied to GHB.

To raise awareness of GBH drug-use in the gay community and debate the best ways to approach education and death prevention, adult entertainer Sleazy Michael in collaboration with Antidote, the UK’s only LGBT-specific drug and alcohol support organization, hosted a panel discussion open to the public.

Each panellist provided their own quote that conveyed how they view and deal with drugs.

Panellists included:

DJ Fat Tony – club promoter and sober coach who asked: ‘What does it take for you guys to wake up’ in regards to drug-related deaths in clubs?

– club promoter and sober coach who asked: ‘What does it take for you guys to wake up’ in regards to drug-related deaths in clubs? Stewart Whoo – former editor of gay magazine QX who said: ‘The gay scene would fall apart without drugs. Come to think of it, so would I…..’

– former editor of gay magazine QX who said: ‘The gay scene would fall apart without drugs. Come to think of it, so would I…..’ David Stuart – education and training manager for Antidote who believes: ‘Collapsing on G ought not be a normal part of our weekend experience. We’re better than that.’

– education and training manager for Antidote who believes: ‘Collapsing on G ought not be a normal part of our weekend experience. We’re better than that.’ Holestar – performer and entertainer who said: ‘The blame lies with ourselves not necessarily the clubs & saunas.’

– performer and entertainer who said: ‘The blame lies with ourselves not necessarily the clubs & saunas.’ David Dan Joe – former drug user and the 2013 winner of annual leather competition Mr. Eagle.

The event, which raised over £600 in funds for Antidote, was open to questions from the public and included in its audience employees from the UK Home Office, NHS and Lambeth Council.

Continue reading for questions put forth by the audience and the various responses given by the panellists.

Why are drug related deaths not reported in the mainstream?

DJ Fat Tony: Last year, there were two deaths in Pleasure Dome, which were scandalized for one day, and after that was the end of it. There was no coverage on the fact that one person survived. These things only become news when they sensationalize about the death of gay people in gay saunas. News makes it seem like we all go to gay saunas and take drugs, and then we face the consequences.

David Dan Joe: In my opinion, mainstream press only cares when the person affected has a straight following, people like George Michael and Boy George.

Holestar: I think that mainstream press ‘ghetto-ises’ gays and lesbians. If it were another minority we were talking about, people would be up in arms.

To what extent is G responsible for the rise in HIV?

David Stuart: Young people will experiment with drugs, particularly with sex at home, saunas and sex parties. People will ingest G to take the edge off crystal meth. G plays an enormous part in HIV transmission.

DJ Fat Tony: It’s also important to consider that unsafe sex also transmits plenty of other diseases. Hepatitis C is at one of the highest increases in the moment.

Would money directed at HIV prevention be better spent on drugs prevention?

David Dan Joe: I’m not sure money would be better spent, but I would like to see is a joined up thinking. It’s really disturbing that money is separate for drug and alcohol issues, and for sexual issues. For me, the two are intrinsically interlinked in my life. It’s not just gay or straight people, but it’s everyone. If there’s no joined-up education, what’s the point?

David Stuart: Antidote is the UK’s only LGBT drug and alcohol service, so you’d think that it would be funded by money for drugs services and research, but that’s not the case.

But how do we get government to understand?

DJ Fat Tony: Last year I went to the House of Lords to lobby about G. Without making a scene that we are animals, I tried to say that there’s a problem with G in this country that goes completely unnoticed. The next day, I only got one phone call back. No one is interested.

Stuart Whoo: Issues not being discussed in press is the same issue as lack of funding. Why should the government put any funding in drug use prevention? It’s a small group of people, who are making individual choices. They’re harming themselves; they’re not harming anyone else. That’s a hard thing to argue with because it is a personal choice.

David Dan Joe: The answer to that is, do you want to wait until it does become an epidemic or do you want to do something now? It’s doesn’t take a lot of money, it just takes a little bit of common sense. It takes a little bit to talk about self-esteem, as opposed to waiting for a huge problem that will cost millions.

David Stuart: There is one central London clinic where at least 30 people presented for PEP last month. This suggests there are another 50 more who are not reported because they’re still high or not aware of PEP. HIV medicine costs money. Things are changing slowly unfortunately because of the increased harm.

Are there ways to moderate drug use?

David Dan Joe: ‘I tried different ways to use drugs in moderation. None of those have worked. I used to say I would stick to weekends, only do them when I was going out, only have them at home, or I wouldn’t buy them and have other people buy them. I broke every single limit and boundary I made for myself. I can only speak for myself; the only thing I could do was stop and stay stopped. That includes alcohol. I have an addictive personality. I used to ask myself two questions when I would take drugs. First, can I get away with it? Second, is it worth the risk? The answer to both questions was usually no.

David Stuart: Some people find they can moderate, some people find they can’t. We prefer to ask how can we help people change? How can we help you be better?

DJ Fat Tony: For me, moderation was never an option. I’m an addict. It’s like smacking moles at a fair. Once one addiction was knocked down, another one came up. Somebody like me doesn’t have a stop button. Others can.

Stewart Whoo: Some people can moderate, but if you continuously use a drug, some problems will eventually arise. I was still able to work on drugs, some people can’t.

How long does it take to build up a tolerance to GHB?

David Stuart: It can happen in as fast as a week if you use it quite a lot. Mild dependence can occur within a couple of days. Stopping after taking GHB repeatedly say over a weekend, you may notice mild withdrawal symptoms like sweaty palms and anxiety, which can lead to trouble sleeping.

I’ve been drug user for 30 years, and I’m concerned about the fatalistic approach some people take to drug use. Given how popular and risky GHB is, is it time that we taught people how to take the drugs?

David Dan Joe: Education in all forms is a good idea. Helping people make informed decisions is great. The difficulty is, continued use of drugs makes it difficult to use them ‘safely’. On G, after two doses, I’m a bit off my face. When people are off their face, it is tricky to do drugs in the ‘right’ doses.

How do you plan to reach people this actually affects?

Holestar: we need to reach and educate young people, but we need to educate them in a cool way, letting them know what what is and how they should take it.

DJ Fat Tony: When you do drugs, no one wants to know the consequences of using. When I was using, I don’t want to know the consequences, because that’s the thrill of it. It only comes to surface when it becomes a problem, and then it’s too late. Unless somebody’s ready to be educated, there’s no point.

Stewart Whoo: I don’t think there’s that much we can do apart from giving information. But young people do have a feeling of invincibility.

Give me three good reasons why not to take G.

David Stuart: It can kill you, and you deserve better.

Stuart Whoo: You don’t actually know what’s going to happen.

