On Friday evening, a violent road accident, involving the vehicle of Pierre Palmade with that of a family, occurred in Villiers-en-Bière in Seine-et-Marne. The balance sheet, still temporary, is already very heavy: a woman lost her 7-month-old baby. She, her brother and a 6-year-old child are still in serious condition. The comedianwhich is believed to have caused the collision, is out of danger.
According to the Melun prosecutor’s office, Pierre Palmade tested positive for cocaine after the accident. According to information from BFMTV, “Pierre Palmade had been partying for more than 24 hours in his house in Dammarie-les-Lys with four other young people, and that he was using various drugs, in particular of the type chemsex in injection”.
Pierre Palmade road accident: two men in their twenties accused of fleeing from the comedian’s vehicle after the accident
➡ They risk prosecution for “failure to assist a person in danger” pic.twitter.com/8J5AwsxFPD
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) February 11, 2023
But what is chemsex?Using a drug to increase sexual pleasure is nothing new. Since ancient Rome, opium has been associated with sexuality. Literature has always testified to this. Baudelaire described the effects of the opiate substance on the pleasures in The evil flowerswithin the poem The poison. But for ten years, a practice seems to stand out, it is the chemsex which consists in consuming certain types of drugs for the sole purpose of improving, prolonging, intensifying the sexual act. The difference with sexuality under substances described since the dawn of time in literature? Patients often do not present with addiction (or even consumption) of drugs outside of chemsex. The addiction psychiatrist Muriel Grégoire, head of service at the villa Floréal in Aix-en-Provence, tells us more.
A sexual practice from Anglo-Saxon countries
Testimonies relate to “chemsex parties” which can last from several hours to several days. The chemsexers evoke an important sexual desire, taking drugs which are linked and 24h, 48h, 72h without eating, without sleeping, without interrupting the sexual act. A certain number tell of an irrepressible desire to start over, sometimes at the risk of their lives. Overdoses, illnesses, exhaustion or even depression leading to suicide are sometimes mentioned in connection with chemsex.
“I had a consultation with my first chemsexer in 2010, at the Center Marmottan (specialized in various addictions). At the time, he described to me a practice that had become addictive: he took a drug, cathinones (psychostimulants) in a sexual context. The psychiatrist is not familiar with this type of drug, which turns out to be similar, in its effects, with amphetamines, with a stimulating effect on the libido bonus. The phenomenon arrived in France at this time, coming from Anglo-Saxon countries, “In the United States, we have already been talking about it for several years”, she remembers. The center’s team follows the patient through psychotherapy and treats him “as for another addiction with some specificities, by applying the principle of risk reduction.”
From slam to chemsex: developments in the practice
Following this, other patients come to see her, advised by this first case. Initially, the psychiatrist mainly received patients addicted to “slam”. “The slammers have sex under psychostimulant products in the form of an injection”, she specifies. Then, the concept evolved into drugs taken orally or in powder form, or for smoking and was renamed “chemsex“.
Muriel Grégoire believes that chemsex is practiced in particular in the gay community, without being limited to it and “without stigmatizing”, she insists. The French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction primarily associates chemsex with men having sex with men, in a report published in 2017.
His first patients, for a few years, are in their forties, are very well integrated into society. “These are people who work a lot and who find in slam a way to let go. These are not people who use drugs elsewhere, not even cannabis for the most part”. Then, the psychiatrist sees the public diversifying and reaching all ages. Some even begin their sexuality with chemsex, “with the illusion that it is a way of being part of the community”, she specifies.
Chemsex and sexually transmitted infections
According to the 2019 Apaches survey, one in three chemsexers is HIV-positive. Muriel Grégoire remembers that when she started seeing patients for their addiction to this practice, 95% of them were affected by HIV. Which would be much less the case for his patients today (less than half), many of whom are protected by PrEP, underlines Muriel Grégoire, who is also a speaker for the Aides association.
On the other hand, the practice is associated with a resurgence of sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrheagonococci or syphilis. Drugs disinhibit and condoms are rarely included in the experience. It is one of the “gateways” to care: when the body falls ill. But not only. She explains that the chemsexers who consult can arrive in her practice through different motivations. Some face depression, psychostimulants consumed in excess can indeed play a role at this level. Some can no longer have sex or have difficulty accessing it without consuming products.
Chemsex and loneliness: the role of confinements and dating apps
“Those I see are overwhelmed by the practice, but what makes people slip is not only chemsex, it is generally multifactorial. Chemsex is not necessarily linked to an addiction, nor to a repeated use. The definition focuses on seeking a sexual effect via a synthetic product. That said, it is a practice that can lead to addiction : it is achieved through the use of strong products, which can lead to addiction”, explains Muriel Grégoire.
She notices common traits in her patients. They are often victims of homophobia, explicit or deaf. She points out that some have experienced (or continue to experience) a shameful, secret sexuality. As is often the case in addiction phenomena, the chemsexers who consult her have experienced trauma, difficult childhoods, sexual abuse and suffer from emotional deficiencies. “Loneliness is one of the big factors in chemsex. Lockdowns have tended to reinforce the practice because dating apps play a big role in this phenomenon. There are fewer dating moments, so we go more on the apps, we see each other in an apartment and we take action more easily”, she summarizes.
What support for chemsex?
Treatment is in the form of integrative therapy. The accompaniment must be plural, insofar as chemsex responds to various factors. “You have to be able to talk freely about sex”, she intervenes, emphasizing that this question of sexuality often poses a problem for medical personnel, whereas it is essential. “All the difficulty is to take care of the patient without him feeling judged on his practices”, she explains, emphasizing the importance of knowing the terms that refer to it. Psychotherapy can be put in place, with drug treatment if depression is associated. Discussion groups are also offered, as well as work with community associations.
Sources: interview Muriel Grégoire (February 2021), OFDT, Apaches survey.
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