Lawmakers in the U.K. are cracking down on drugs.
The British government banned the sale of amyl nitrate, otherwise known among gay men as “poppers.” Under the Psychoactive Substances Bill, which became law last week, those caught selling the drugs faces up to seven years in prison.
Related: STUDY: Use Of Poppers May Lead To Eye Damage, Loss Of Sight
Poppers have long been used as a party drug, offering a brief and sudden sense of euphoria combined with a sense of calm, especially when used during sex.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Rosanna O’Connor, a spokesperson for Public Health England, said: “The risks for users of new psychoactive substances can be particularly high especially when so little is known about their content, which can be dangerous and in some cases lead to death.”
Related: “Sudden Sniffing Death” Is Now A Thing Thanks To The New Gay Poppers
“A ban would aim to reduce the easy availability of these substances,” O’Connor continued, “but we also crucially need to continue to focus on preventing and treating the harms that they can cause.”
But not everyone agrees with the new regulations.
Professor David Nutt, the Government’s former chief drugs adviser, called the new law “utterly pointless,” saying: “It will make no difference. People will just go back to cocaine and heroin… It is an extraordinarily simplistic and retrograde step. It won’t reduce harms, it may well increase harms.”
Yes, please don’t pick on poppers.
Related: British Study Claims Illegal Drug Use Seven Times Higher Among Gays
h/t: ITV
notevenwrong
The poppers that have been sold in the U.K. recently are not amyl nitrite. If only… They were other, inferior nitrites, which came on the market when sale of amyl nitrite was banned and which ironically have been shown to have side effects (e.g., on vision) that amyl nitrite doesn’t have.
I agree that the law is pointless, but it is laughable to say that instead people will “go back” to heroin and cocaine. There is no comparison between the brief rush of relatively innocuous and non-addictive poppers and these hard addictive drugs.
John D. Plume
Alkyl nitrites are used because they act upon the parasympathetic nervous system, making anal insertion much easier (relaxes the inner of the two sphincters in the anus which is not under voluntary control unlike the outer).
In fact, in American gay porn magazines in the ’70s, drug companies put ads in selling poppers.
That said, poppers are immuno-suppressive. They degrade easily and quickly into very toxic chemicals that can, literally, be used to strip paint off wood.
And a man who stops in the middle of sex to huff? Not sexy.
notevenwrong
@John D. Plume: “That said, poppers are immuno-suppressive. They degrade easily and quickly into very toxic chemicals that can, literally, be used to strip paint off wood.”
Not true for pharmaceutical amyl nitrite, which is a precribed angina drug. As for the ones they sell in sex shops, who knows what’s in them?
As for the sex-enhancing properties, yes, it may make bottoming easier for some people, but if that were all they did, they wouldn’t be so popular. They really change your perception of time and enhance sensations to turn you into a raving sex animal for a minute or so, even if you are topping.
charlie_jackpot
The ITV article you use as your source and this BBC one http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32919712 say it’s a proposed law – it’s not been signed into law yet
john.k
I first used poppers in 1983 and have been using them regularly since. I’m 66 now and in very good health thank goodness (not on any prescribed medication).
Clark35
Does queerty think that people are actually going to no longer use poppers at all in the UK?
fagburn
It’s not a law, you idiot.
charlie_jackpot
Why haven’t you updated this article to say the government are proposing a law, not made it law. Take a look at this article – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33079042 the bill has been proposed without the advice of the body they set up to advise on normal drug matters.
popperpig
These sorts of proposals (and often the media attention they garner) smack of gay sex panics. They could have just left it with amyl or isobutyl back in the day, and there’s nothing that has shown long term damaging effects either to health or society. That’s why sites like http://popperpig.net exist – to help shed some light on laws, health studies, and how you can get real amyl and to share any negative experiences people have with them.
Some folks like gin, some people like weed, some guys people huff poppers – and when afficionados get together in one spot to rally and share info, then we can start to not let well-meaning law-makers and media outlets spread misinformation to protect the CHILDREN- Oh GODDD won’t womeone PLEASE think of the CHILDREN?!
Huff away, guys- just do a modicum of research- and stop buying any bottle marked isopropyl or 95% alcohol- THAT is the shit that’s been shown to be bad for your eyes and such.
Oh and poppers aren’t just for bottoms or gays.