Increased emotional connection, intense body sensations, disinhibition and lust,... sound tempting to your ears, don't they? These are the most popular desired effects of sex under the influence of drugs, also called pharmacoseks (Moyle, Dymock, Aldridge & Mechen., 2020). In the Netherlands, especially in swingers circles, people previously gave a name to having sex under the influence of drugs, namely: Wappen (Words.org). The verb 'wapping' was derived from Weekend Adult Party (WAP). Events are organised around it in the Netherlands, such as Kinky on the Beach or Garden of Lust. Both having sex and using drugs are still taboo anno 2022, at least in most societies. So what about pharmacosex? However, people have been intentionally using drugs to enrich their sexual experiences since ancient times. Various aphrodisiacs have resulted from this. These drugs aimed at stimulating the sex drive were named after the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of fertility. A lot of commonly used drugs are powerful aphrodisiacs. From Mesopotamia to Egypt across Greece to Rome, sex parties under the influence of alcohol and other drugs were held as early as antiquity (Provoost et al., 2005). More recently, in the 1960s, psychedelic preacher Timothy Leary shouted from the rooftops that LSD was the most potent aphrodisiac ever. And then the wave of new drugs was yet to come.
Despite attempts to curb drug use through legislation, we see an increasing number of psychoactive substances becoming available. There are now more than a thousand known types of drugs that can be classified into seven categories through the Drug Wheel. Stimulants, empathogens, cannabinoids and narcotics are the most commonly used for wapping. Pleasure drugs have their uses in our hectic society and can be powerful tools for self-exploration, deepening the emotional connection with the sex partner, releasing inhibitions and exploring intense body sensations. Research on how stimulants can boost the sexual connection between people is scarce. Therefore, in this article, we focus in particular on the positive aspects of these substances in pharmacosex. This allows healthcare professionals to have an open and non-judgemental conversation with their clients and develop adapted care and harm reduction strategies for the growing group of people engaging in pharmacosex. We do not lose sight of the fact that pharmacosex also has a potential downside. Increased sexual arousal and disinhibition can lead to sexual activities that may increase the risk of STI/HIV and to transgressive behaviour. And finally, addiction is always lurking, especially when emotional pain from trauma or loneliness is minimized.
Research shows that there are four types of people who engage in pharmacosex. The most common group are those who combine sex and drugs without premeditation, often after going out under the influence of alcohol or other party drugs. The second largest group are those who combine drugs and sex in the BDSM context (short for Bondage and Discipline (BD), Dominance and Submission (DS) and Sadism and Masochism (SM)) and in the sex party context. There is also a group of so-called psychonauts who experiment with NPSs (New Psychoactive Substances). Psychonauts are mental travellers, exploring the universe of the mind (Pestana et al., 2020). In the context of pharmacosex, they often experiment with new drugs and consciously tailor their doses to the desired intensity of the sex experience. The last group are gay men who engage in chemsex (Moyle et al., 2020).
Read the full (Dutch) article here
