No sex without Chems: challenges and lessons of the health and drug services regarding Chemsex among men having sex with men (MSM) in Amsterdam

This paper reflects in the policy aims of the Dutch drug and health services around the prac-tice of combining chemical drugs with sex, commonly known as Chemsex, among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Amsterdam city. With Chemsex being a growing trend in MSM subgroups in Europe, public health concerns around the positionality of queer men in rela-tion to HIV and AIDS had been raise. Through the use of storytelling, this research collects the experiences of nine MSM Chemsex users and their relationship with one or more of the most popular sexualized drugs in the market; Crystal Meth, Mephedrone, GHL and GBL. This paper explores gender narratives of hegemonic masculinity in The Netherlands health and drug services and argue that there is a need to facilitate the provision of intersectional sensitive care towards MSM Chemsex users. Furthermore, it intends to contribute to the debate on drug harm reduction in social health policy and to suggest possibilities for harm minimization and social inclusion.