Amyl and poppers
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What is amyl (poppers) and why is it popular in club and gay culture?
At a personal level, I love it because it's quite accessible, even though the government has tried for many years to make it less accessible to people. You can still just pop down to your local text shop or even a gay bar. They might sell it behind the bar. And it just gives you an easy, quick and safe hunt.
Warning, adult content. The Hookup, love and ****ing on Triple J. It's a substance that's pretty popular on dance floors and is known to be a go-to drug for the men during sex with... It's a substance that's pretty popular on dance floors and is known to be a go-to drug for men during sex with other men as it relaxes certain muscles in the body. And while it's illegal to sell, supply or inhale products containing amyl, it can still be sold online or in sex shops as room deodorizer or video head cleaner. But the government body, the TGA, wants to change that and further restrict the sale of these products. Soon, Dr Brad will join us to chat about what exactly poppers are and what they can do to you.
But first, a first-hand account from Steve Spencer, who's a gay activist and Amel enthusiast. He even has a tattoo of an Amel bottle on his chest. I started by asking Steve when he first came across Amel.
Well, like many gay men, I first came across it the first time I had sex. because trust me, it makes things a whole lot easier and a whole lot more enjoyable. And so basically from that day, it's never really stopped and I'm doing just fine.
What does it feel like exactly when you use it and when you did it that first time?
Yeah, so the way that it works is that it dilates your blood vessels and relaxes your muscles. So it gives you a brief 20-second rush or a high and then you go back to totally normal afterwards. If you've got a high quality, well-stored product, there are basically no negative side effects and it's all just a really good time. And so for me, it's been great for sex and then it's also great on the dance floor. So it's a really good time.
Well, we'll see about those side effects in a moment when
Dr. Brad
joins us. But I want to ask what you actually, what you love about it in particular and why you continue to use it.
Yeah. So, like, at a personal level, I love it because it's quite accessible, even though the government has tried for many years to make it less accessible to people. You can still just pop down to your local sex shop or even a gay bar. They might sell it behind the bar. And it just gives you an easy, quick and safe hunt. Have
you had any mishaps with it, though? Has anything ever gone wrong?
Um, for me, it's just if you don't want the top of the bottle and you might see it at some people at maybe festivals on the dance floor at the end of the night, they have a bit of a red nose. You can get a little bit of a burn on your skin. But, you know, the best way to avoid that is just to hold it away from your nose. I know I can get a bit too keen and sort of get a bit close and you end up with a bit of a red nose after the night out.
Yeah, well, have you ever, like, accidentally kind of got it all the way up in there, like the liquid? Like, have you ever kind of spilled
some? Oh, not on myself, but I remember one time I was, like, 20 and I was getting a bit too keen with a guy and I accidentally spilled it all up his nose. I know, it was so embarrassing. So he just had to snort, I think it was milk, he just had to pour milk up his nose and it stopped it from burning, so...
Steve, thanks so much for having a chat. Steve Spencer is an activist and clearly an ML enthusiast on The Hookup on Triple J. But right now to get some actual medical perspective on what exactly it can and can't do to you and how safe it kind of really is, we're joined by Dr. Brad McKay. Thank you so much for joining us again on The Hookup. Hi, Nat. We'll talk a little bit about how it weighs up against other vices in a sec. But first, anyone who's actually confused, what exactly are poppers?
Yeah, so poppers have been around since the 1800s. They were sort of called poppers because the chemical was contained within a glass capsule.
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