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How chemsex spread like wildfire in the 1990s KL club scene

FEATURE | When it comes to synthetic drugs, anyone can be a user and anyone can be a dealer.

Unlike the common perception of addicts portrayed in anti-drug campaigns, said PT Foundation activist Rifqi Hanafi, drugs like crystal methamphetamines can easily remain under the radar.

“I knew a friend who was a lecturer but after 6pm he was a drug dealer. He used to sell at home, but then he moved from hotel to hotel. It was a well-paying job,” he said.

PT Foundation is is an NGO which works to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS while supporting those affected by the virus - many of whom are drug users.

Rifqi (photo) said hotels are lucrative haunts for synthetic drug suppliers thanks to the thriving chemsex scene which gained footing in Malaysia in the early 1990s.

Chemsex - short for chemical sex - refers to sex under the influence of drugs, usually methamphetamines.

Rifqi said Aramine, a popular drug in the 1990s, was once used to boost confidence to pick up girls in clubs, he said, but today it is known as a “rape drug” used to take advantage of unsuspecting women.

The introduction of Ecstasy - a psychoactive drug which heightens sensations - paved the way for chemsex, with KL’s thumping gay clubs as prime spots for drugs to change hands.

As the Internet was still in its infancy in Malaysia at the time, the gay community relied on the club scene to find partners, making it fertile soil for the proliferation of chemsex.

“The groups came together, drugs started to spread around, and that’s when the chemsex phenomenon became quite common among the community,” he said.

“It happened to the heterosexual community as well. When you are taking drugs, everyone can be your friend, as you would develop a higher tolerance towards risks.”...

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