Party and play

Party and play(PNP),

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 play together sexually, either one-on-one or in groups.

The term is often but not always used by and associated with gay men 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 are less associated with this term. It has been called both an "epidemic" and "plague" in the gay community.

Participants

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 to prospective partners. Craigslist posts by men seeking PNP experiences often resort to slang, often replacing each occurrence of the letter "t" with a capital "T". This is a reference to a series of bastardizations involving the sale of methamphetamine, which is often sold in sixteenths of an ounce, hence the slang "Teen", "Teena", "Tina", and "T".

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 or even for several days. 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.

Risks

Besides the inherent risks involved with drug use, health officials have found a strong correlation between drug use and unsafe sex practices. Indeed, some online profiles have notations such as "PNP BB only" (Party and Play, bareback only).

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. 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.

Statistics

Men who PNP with methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA, and ketamine are twice as likely to bareback (have unprotected sex), 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.

Club culture

Methamphetamine is popular in the gay party scene.

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 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.

(source:wikipedia)