Most Read
Most Commented
Read more like this
mk-logo
News

FEATURE | Noah, 28, is meeting a client to rent out his car for the afternoon.

His clients are university students in the area, so he is mostly busy during the day and very free at night.

He has not slept for three days thanks to crystal meth, and is repeatedly haunted by hallucinations.

Throughout the day a voice tells him someone is coming after him and that his life is in peril. Every passer-by feels like a would-be attacker.

Crystal meth, short for crystallised methamphetamine, is a powerful stimulant, known for its capacity to not only remove inhibitions but to set the user on a frenzy, accelerating sexual desire, energy and often times, aggression.

This is why driving home today, Noah feels no fatigue.

In fact, he is even more energised having taken an extra gram of crystal meth the night before at a cost of RM250 per gram. But it could also cost his life.

Strange men

Waking up at his apartment in Petaling Jaya the next day, Noah finds his housemate Peter worriedly waiting for him on the sofa.

For months, different men have been coming and going through their apartment. Some stay for just a day, but others stay for up to three months.

The men are Noah’s chemsex partners - referred to as such because they only ever have sexual relations under the influence of drugs usually crystalllised methamphetamine, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) or mephedrone.

Mephedrone is hardly accessible in Malaysia, so active chemsex drug users in the country prefer crystal meth or GHB, which are banned for recreational use but still accessible on the black market.

“The sex was good, you can be erect for hours without ejaculation, and you will get a really good feeling. It exaggerates your sensation,” he said.

Ejaculation usually comes only hours later.

“I started by using condoms but it wasn’t satisfying. The sex could last for hours and you don’t feel like having rubber between skins.

“I am trying to enhance my sexual satisfaction by doing chemsex so there is no point of wearing condom,” he said.

Noah was diagnosed with HIV in February 2017.

In his twenties, he looks like the boy next door in his nerdy glasses and haircut. Up until April last year, he was really just that.

A traumatic personal incident triggered depression, and crystal meth was his way to cure the pain. Sex came with it.

Dating apps

For Noah, the introduction to chemsex came with Grindr - a dating app primarily used by gay men to find sexual or romantic partners.

Some of the app users would openly list out their intention, by typing “chilling”, “cf” (chemfun) or the emoji of an ice cube to attract those with a mutual interest - having casual sex under the influence drugs...

Unlocking Article
Unlocking Article
View Comments
ADS