A considerable amount of research has been conducted abroad that probes levels of drug taking and routes into drug use amongst the LGBT community. Yet there is a complete absence of comparable research here and we are left with a rather vague notion that there is a serious problem, rather than the type of sophisticated appreciation that emerges from systematic research that can be used to formulate policy and initiatives.

This study represents an initial step towards addressing this dearth of research. BeLonG To Youth Project, Ireland’s only designated LGBT youth service, secured funding through Pobal to commission research with young LGBT people between the ages of 18 and 26 to determine a) the extent and causes of drug use amongst this client group b) the impact of drugs on young people and c) the type of service response that is appropriate to meet the needs of those who are currently using drugs or who may potentially begin to do so in the future. As a general aspiration, the research strives to provide evidence that can support the development of BeLonG To services for young LGBT drug users.

A three phase research methodology was employed. In Phase 1 interviews were held with 12 young LGBT drug users to record their personal experiences of drug use. A small number of interviews were also conducted with the staff at BeLonG To and other stakeholders to get a service-provider perspective. Themes emerging from these interviews were then explored further in a focus group setting (Phase 2) with 32 participants (in five focus group sessions). Themes emerging in Phase 1 and 2, together with themes emerging from international literature, were then incorporated into an on-line questionnaire which was completed by 173 respondents between August and mid-October 2006.

Overview Of Findings

While recognising that alcohol is a drug, and that alcohol abuse is a growing problem within the LGBT community, for the purposes of this research it was excluded from our definition of ‘drugs’. Thus when used in this report, the term ‘drugs’ refers to ‘any psychoactive substance, excluding alcohol’.

Section C of this report provides detailed analyses of the on-line survey set in the context of testimonies recorded during focus groups and interviews. Headline findings from the survey include the following.

* 65 per cent of LGBT youth have had some experience of drug taking.
* 21 per cent have systematically used drugs (i.e. have done so on more than 60 occasions).
* 60 per cent had taken drugs over the 12 months preceding the survey.
* 40 per cent had used drugs in the preceding month and 29 per cent in the seven days leading up to the survey.
* 56 per cent of LGBT youth have some history of taking cannabis, 44 per cent poppers, 33 per cent ecstasy and 32 per cent cocaine.
* 89 per cent reported that they had been offered drugs at some point in the past.
* 65 per cent said that they had wanted to try drugs at some stage in their lives.
* 21 per cent of drug users either always or frequently mix their drugs on a night out (i.e. are polydrug users).
* 80 per cent of drug takers attributed their motivations for first trying drugs to curiosity. Eight per cent linked it to issues relating to their sexuality.
* 49 per cent of drug takers experienced blackouts resulting from drug taking. * 46 per cent of drug takers had engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse attributed to drug taking.
* 11 per cent of drug users had been sexually assaulted while ‘incapacitated due to drugs’.

These findings would tend to suggest that drug use is widespread amongst LGBT young people and is more prevalent than recorded in comparable studies probing drug taking within the youth population generally.