Party and play (PNP or PnP), also known as a chemical session, chem session, or simply as partying, is a phenomenon and subculture of recreational drug users who engage in sexual activities with one another, either one-on-one or in groups.
The term is often but not always used by and associated with homosexuals[1] and men who have sex with men (MSM). The drug of choice is typically methamphetamine, known as crystal or tina in the gay community. Other "party drugs" such as MDMA and GHB are less associated with this term.[2] It has been called both an "epidemic" and "plague" in the gay community.[1]
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Men interested in PNP typically meet through other drug users or through Internet dating sites. On such sites, men often include notations such as "PNP" or the reverse, "No PNP". Some sites, such as Manhunt.net, prohibit members from saying that they want PNP or making other positive references to drug use.
Craigslist.org has the same policy but it is seldom enforced; users often advertise they are willing to provide favors or party favors[3] to prospective partners. Internet posts by men seeking pNp experiences often resort to slang to identify what drug they are partying with.
As stimulant drugs such as methamphetamine drastically delay the need for sleep and tend to inhibit ejaculation, PNP sexual encounters can continue for many hours--a typical methamphetamine high lasts about eight hours--or even for several days if multiple doses are taken (however in this case the comedown is correspondingly more severe). These drugs tend to inhibit penile erection, a phenomenon known by the slang term crystal dick. Consequently, many men who engage in PNP use erectile dysfunction drugs such as sildenafil, vardenafil, and tadalafil.[4]
Besides the inherent risks involved with drug use, health officials have found a strong correlation between drug use and unsafe sex practices.[5]
As such, PNP practices are cited as the cause of rising HIV rates in the gay and bisexual male community and other men who have sex with men.[6] San Francisco's STOP Aids Project and the Mayor of San Francisco's Crystal Meth Task Force have reduced methamphetamine use from 18% in 2003 to 10% in 2005 of gay and bisexual San Franciscans PNPing. The STOP AIDS Project has been heavily involved due to the common link between methamphetamine use and sex—PNPing.
The same drug-induced loss of inhibitions makes PNP enthusiasts more vulnerable to more immediate threats, such as robbery, date rape, or assault by someone whom they meet for sex.
Men who PNP with methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA, and ketamine are twice as likely to bareback (have unprotected sex, meaning sex without using a condom), according to British research. The study also found that up to 20% of gay men from central London gyms have tried methamphetamine, the drug most associated with PNPing.[7]
The term party and play - and pay has emerged as a warning that Partying and Playing leads to bareback sex which increases the chances of contracting HIV and may result in other consequences such as neurological damage[8] and resistance to HIV drugs.
"We're seeing a strong correlation between crystal and HIV infection" -Pride Institute of New York
Methamphetamine can cause sores and abrasions in the mouth which can turn typically low HIV risk sex acts such as oral sex into very high risk sexual activity and transmit HIV.[9]
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