Vanguard | January 30, 2008 | 20 comments

Party and Play

Christof

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Vanguard Correspondent Christof Putzel investigates how the combination of crystal meth and the internet is fueling HIV infections among California's gay community.
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    News and Politics,   Green,   Earth and Science,   On Current TV,   17 more
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    News and Politics Not News Green Earth and Science 26 more
  3. credits:
    Christof Starring, Christof Producer, Christof Correspondent, more
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20 comments // Party and Play // Video

  • martabettencourt
  • stopnoise
    • 0
      stopnoise  
    • I am with you Jammer! But this video is to teach people not to get or avoid that type of situation!
      Many of what these guys are saying, as: "If a person do not ask I will not tell them my healthy status!"
      That should scare the heck of anyone! However I am not judging but actually praising them for being honest and the producers to show the consequences of abusing your body that way. The fact is that some people; (did not ); or does not have a better chance in life and the path that they fall is a path the leads to premature death!

    • 3 years ago
  • J_Jammer
  • stopnoise
    • 0
      stopnoise  
    • I understand your point J_Jammer, but not completely agreeing with everything you're saying! We should look at this video and listen their views of life as a learning tool and be a little more compassionate about their situation. Sure it is about education and choice we all take in our lives and by listen to them you will learn how we have to take care of ourselves better to not fall into this type of terminal behavior. I'll bet some people watching this video will think twice before even touch this stuff.

    • 3 years ago
  • J_Jammer
    • 0
      J_Jammer [removed]  
    • What? Decent and serious? This is anything but.....

      and looking for love? I can't take people seriously when they lie so boldly.

      "HIV is not in my karma....my make up?" oh. Ignorance isn't just bliss it's apathy at it's height.

      I can't bring myself to feel sorry for people that put themselves in the position to do the same things they are ashamed of. If they want to change they get away from what's causing them to do the "bad" things.

      I need a shower after watching that...and I need to talk to some smart people. My brain hurts from the amount of baffling stupid I just saw.

    • 3 years ago
  • fa_wn
    • 0
      fa_wn  
    • It is depressing that these people realize how incompetent they are when they are under the influence, yet they continue to do it anyway. However, I guess that is how most people chose to live their life. Regardless of whether it is drugs, everyday we make decisions that are harmful to us no matter how minute. Therefore, who is to say that these decisions on meth are worse than those we make everyday consciously.

    • 3 years ago
  • stopnoise
    • 0
      stopnoise  
    • The pod is good and certainly will make anyone reflect about some real issues! Is is not complete! It would be good to have the social spiritual and psychological analysis of it. I think you do not need my green light as it is already on TV.

    • 3 years ago
  • cheyroze
    • 0
      cheyroze  
    • I really enjoyed this pod. It made me think and feel, which is what this format is all about, right?

      Although very specific (a subculture within another subculture) the pod brings up a very relevant point. If you know someone who uses/used meth, make sure to use protection if you chose to have sex with them. In my experience, users don't have any desire to control urges and will open their legs to anyone (as so aptly put by the retired pharmaceutical executive).

    • 3 years ago
  • LBZcody
    • 0
      LBZcody  
    • I think meth is one of the worst drugs to struggle with. Its sad what our society came to in 25 years. Just imagine in the Sixtys and Seventys the drugs of choice were psychodelics. Acid is WAY less dangerous than tweek.

    • 3 years ago
  • ashgallagher
    • 0
      ashgallagher  
    • THIS IS ONE OF THE SADDEST STORIES I HAVE EVER SEEN. ESP AT THE END....I REALLY HOPE THESE MEN CAN GET HELP....AMAZING IN A HEART BREAKING...WAY....

      I REALLY LIKE YOUR WORK. I THINK THE STORIES YOU PUT ON HERE ARE WELL PUT TOGETHER CERTAINLY I ASPIRE TO THE DEPTH AND QUALITY YOU SHOW....

    • 3 years ago
  • tashai
    • 0
      tashai  
    • THIS IS SO SO SOSO SO SO SO SO SO SHOCKING MAN TO MAN THAT IS SO GROSS TWO MEN HAVING SEX PICTURING IT IN MY HEAD IS GROSS ENOUGH BUT WATCHING IT EWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY EYES R BLEEDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • 3 years ago
  • sybarite
    • 0
      sybarite  
    • I'm based in Australia and even though the drug is the same and the party culture is pretty similar, we're not seeing anything like the harms reported in this pod and the popular media. Something to bear in mind is that crystal users are more likely to be positive already, and while they have more unprotected sex than non-users, it's typically with other already-positive men where there's no risk of new HIV infection occurring.

    • 3 years ago
  • Tweek7684
    • 0
      Tweek7684  
    • So one-sided. This may be an epidemic in larger cities like San Fransisco or new york among less attractive middle aged gay men, but the majority don't do it. This article gives gay culture a very, very bad name. If anyone has ever watched Queer as Folk, they should be aware of this tiny sub-culture. People who fall in to it almost deserve what they get (nobody ever deserves HIV). There are occassional and responsible drug users out there. Perhaps getting the perspective from both a non-user gay and from a intelligent user might balance this piece out.

      Also, the same thing happened with MDMA (ecstasy) a decade ago.

    • 3 years ago
  • GreyToTo
  • mayavada
  • vardy1690
  • woodywoodbeck
    • 0
      woodywoodbeck  
    • This is a truly incredible real life story of the risks of STD and addiction within the gay community. I know many people in my life who battle with this and everyday it scares me more and more. We are fighting within our own community to try and open up this dialog a bit more and West Hollywood has started doing so with a new web series called "In The Moment" that you can check out at the following website.

    • 4 years ago
  • kinolina
    • 0
      kinolina  
    • This pod depicts a bleak downward spiral of drug use and increasing risk for HIV in cities like San Francisco (and elsewhere along the West Coast, too). The immediacy of dialing up dates and drugs online like pizza deliveries underlines how ingrained disposable culture and convenience is enjoyed by everyone in the United States. We are acculturated to satisfy immediate gratification in every form. It''s disenheartening, however, to see guys from all age spectrums destroy their lives this way.

    • 5 years ago
  • cerissa
    • 0
      cerissa  
    • Image
    • This is one of my favorite pods, although I always find it hard to watch. I first learned about this issue from this article in the New Yorker. It's a gripping read and also very disturbing. It looks at meth use among gay men in the context of the AIDS epidemic and, among other things, asks why some gay men are engaging in such risky behavior after decades of public health efforts to promote safer sex.

    • 4 years ago
  • lauraling
    • 0
      lauraling  
    • Image
    • Imagine walking into the office and seeing Christof chatting online with men looking to Party and Play. That could get you fired in some workplaces. But in this case, it was good journalism that led to great access. Meth has become such a pervasive drug all across America and increasingly the world. Read this article by Mitch Koss from 2000 about the evolution of meth and how it has become an "emblem of globalization." http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/speed-sells/6017/

    • 4 years ago

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