Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, another crisis was emerging within LGBTQ+ communities in major cities worldwide.
In recent years, reports have shown increasingly widespread overdoses among queer men who use crystal meth and GHB, a highly stigmatized “club drug” seeing a comeback after initial popularity in the early 2000s. These substances are often used, sometimes simultaneously, in what’s variously referred to as chemsex, PnP (party and play), and other euphemisms for drug-fueled sex and sex parties among gay men and trans people. Though this culture has dangerous consequences — including addiction, sexual violence, increased HIV transmission, and fatal overdoses — it has received little mainstream attention.
Salman Jaberi, a Brooklyn nightlife aficionado and founder of the multi-media platform Rave Scout Cookies, wanted to do something about the ongoing crisis. The platform was founded last year to spotlight POC and LGBTQ+ dance musicians and DJs through original mixes and interviews. But Jaberi also acknowledges rave culture’s interconnected relationship with drugs (without condemning or condoning substance use), and another aspect of Rave Scout's mission is to promote drug harm reduction, a set of strategies and principles that seek to minimize the harmful effects of substance use by empowering drug users with information that will keep them as safe or healthy as possible without administering blame. It’s comparable to how some comprehensive sex education curricula will teach students how to use protection and contraceptives, as opposed to an abstinence-only approach that doesn’t really work to lower the risk of unplanned pregnancy or transmission of STIs.
On October 2, Rave Scout will launch their very first handbook, a zine featuring artist interviews, spotlights on underground rave collectives, and a harm reduction guide with “up-to-date and freshly reviewed information” about substances used on and off the dance floor. Produced in partnership with the non-profit harm reduction organization DanceSafe National, the booklet is now available to pre-order on Rave Scout’s online Cookie Mart. Rave Scout is also creating a harm reduction kit for “ravers and out-of-reach communities” that will include the handbook, fentanyl test kits, naloxone vials, and more materials. The platform has launched a GoFundMe to raise funds for the kits, which will soon be available to purchase online and distributed at different vendors nationwide.
Jaberi’s goal is to provide life-saving information for everyone in order to end the stigma that further disenfranchises LGBTQ+ people who suffer from substance abuse issues. The majority of GHB users in particular are queer and trans people of color from low-income backgrounds, who face stress and stigma due to their minority identities, Jaberi tells them. in an email. The added judgement and discrimination that these individuals may face for their addiction is a “key reason” why they may not seek rehabilitation, he explains.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has essentially obliterated queer nightlife, Jaberi says that coronavirus has actually exacerbated drug use and abuse among LGBTQ+ Americans. (Not to mention that people are still partying in homes and secret venues.) Reports back up his claim; a majority of U.S. states are reporting an uptick in drug fatalities since March, and the Wall Street Journal projects a record number of 72,000 fatalities in the U.S. so far this year. And while there’s no specific data about overdoses among LGBTQ+ adults, multiple reports have found that the pandemic has had a disproportionately negative impact on the financial well-being and mental health of LGBTQ+ Americans — factors that could lead to increased drug use.
Jaberi talked to them. over the phone and explained how the handbook came together, how the coronavirus pandemic has increased risk among queer party-goers, and why nightlife needs to embrace harm reduction when it comes back.
How did harm reduction become an area of focus for you and Rave Scout?
I've lost a lot of people in my life to drugs. Just this year, two people I was really close to passed away from the pandemic and drugs. You think that people aren't going out and that there wouldn't be any drugs really heavily involved in people's lives, but it's actually the opposite. I think people are doing more drugs now because they're home and stressed out. Especially the LGBTQ+ community, if you look at [the percentage of LGBTQ+ substance users], it’s way higher than among heterosexual folk, just because of stress factors and the things we deal with on a daily basis. With the pandemic going on and people losing their jobs, trying to figure out when they're gonna pay their rent next, it makes sense that there's heavier drugs involved.
Then seeing the judgment that comes with specific drugs, the pointing of fingers and stigmatization that actually leads to overdoses — people need to be aware of that. I think people don't really understand that overdoses happen, because there's shame involved with [using]. People put the topic under the rug because they don't want to be shamed. Then if they overdose by mistake, it's on the down-low.
Do you think it’s even more dangerous for people to be using drugs now? Especially since the pandemic is causing more people to party in spaces that are secretive and unregulated.
You can't really stop it from happening; people are gonna do what they're gonna do regardless. Harm reduction [applies] in every sense — with substances, but also with being in crowds and making sure that you're wearing your mask, etc. From what I’ve seen from the one time I went out and what I've been hearing, people are starting to use [drugs] more irresponsibly, and drug use has been getting heavier compared to before. I think it's definitely a form of escapism. People have just been feeling, like, caged up these past few months; as soon as they attend an event like this, they let go.
I think everyone needs to come together as a collective with informing and educating each other about how important it is to not put yourself or others at risk on the dance floor. It puts [nightlife] at risk when people don’t think of the consequences of what they're doing.
Can you explain more about how it might affect other people?
Let’s say if venues started up again, and [drugs] get dragged on the dance floor, then the venue is going to get shut down. It's going to potentially put the business owner at risk. It's going to put nightlife at risk as a whole, and everyone involved in it.
Tell me about your partnership with DanceSafe National.
I did my first event with them actually, last year in November at [the Brooklyn techno club] Bossa Nova, which was really great. Right now, we're trying to work on creating a live stream to educate people, just because live attendance even before COVID wasn't doing well. People don't want to associate themselves with drug usage, I would say, even though it goes hand in hand with raving. Promoters don't want to be involved with organizations like DanceSafe and whatnot because they think they're promoting drug usage.
If you're not investing [in those kinds of resources] with your party, with taking care of your attendees, then why should people attend your parties to even begin with? I think that's one of the biggest problems with the underground scene, is that they don't take care of people that attend their parties as much as they should. [Harm reduction] should definitely be incorporated if you're a promoter, an artist, or a DJ that throws a party. You just have to preserve the scene as much as it preserves you, by funding you and supporting your platform.
Are you working on any other plans for Rave Scout outside of the handbook?
I am actively working with DanceSafe National to create a harm reduction kit to provide ravers and out-of-to-reach communities through our online Cookie-Mart official store and state-wide vendors at the lowest possible cost. The kit will include sterile needle or needleless syringes, fentanyl test kits, naloxone vials, band-aids, alcohol pads, sharp containers, etc.
We already have the mix series. Then I am planning on developing a membership networking app for underrepresented and under covered talent. You could basically sign up, get your membership accepted, and then network with people from around the globe that are willing to take you under their record label or hire you for production whatever it is you do in the music field. It’s going to be a good networking space for marginalized people to get in touch with each other and with people who are going to be allies. This, this has been something that I've been working on for quite a while.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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