If you like to PNP and bareback, and you’re in NY City, and you’re ambivalent about what you’re doing, then I’ve got a research study for you…

The other day a researcher from CHEST contacted me and told me about a study he’s working on that’s looking at the relationship between “club drugs” and sexual risk taking. They’re testing two different approaches to counseling people – seeing which approach is more effective. The study just involves some computerized surveys and some one-on-one counseling. I was in something not too dissimilar a few years back that was a really good experience for me…

Here’s a blurb from them about their study…

We are interested in talking to men about their sex lives and drug use. No judgments. Earn up to $340 for your time.

If you are eligible for the study, you will be asked to visit our office, located in Chelsea, for an initial appointment. There are separate phases of the study that you might be eligible to participate in. If you are eligible and do all study visits you can earn up to $340 for your time.

For more information, please call (212) 206-7919 x302.

ABOUT US: We are a group of researchers from CHEST, the Center for HIV/AIDS Education Studies and Training. We’re affiliated with Hunter College of the City University of New York. Our research team includes gay, bisexual, and straight men and women and community representatives who play lead roles in this study. We have been doing research with the GLBT community for more than a decade.

NOTE: Any information about you is kept strictly confidential. We are not affiliated with the New York City Dept. of Health, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), or the Police Department. This is strictly a research study being conducted out of Hunter College. For more information about us, please visit www.chestnyc.org

The good part about research studies is their opinions are pretty honest and factual. They’re not getting paid to change you, but to watch and study you. They do have an ethical obligation to encourage you to engage in risk reduction, but no one’s going to lose their job if you don’t take their advice… Nor is anyone going to lose their job for telling you something other than “use a condom every time or else”. They’re not about dogma – they’re about research… That makes all the difference and it’s the reason why their statement says who they’re not affiliated with.

The study I went though a few years ago was really pretty good. It was nice to have someone to talk to about my fears and concerns. The fact that CHEST would even ask me (of all people) to promote their study says a lot about them. They’re not hostile towards the bareback community – they won’t frown or scowl at you if you’re honest with them and tell them you just spent the weekend being a cum dump with the help of your friend Tina.

At the same time I do get the sense that they’re hesitant to be promoted here ’cause they have people watching them who might find the association a bit odd or inappropriate. But it’s not odd at all – sites like this are where they’ll find some of their best research participants. If they filled their study who guys didn’t take any risks, they’d have a hard time drawing conclusions – they need you guys for their study to succeed.

When I was talking to the researcher on the phone the other day one of the interesting things he said was how people’s attitudes have changed about studies. My generation and above volunteered for studies because we saw people dying and we wanted to make a difference. These days people don’t see their friends and lovers dying so they don’t really feel the need to be in studies.

But there really is a need for studies like this – drug use (especially meth) is a real problem in our community and it’s fucking up people’s lives. I know, I know some of you can control it, but a lot of you can’t. Or you think you can, but you’re no fun to fuck ’cause you’re so tweaked that you’re messy and distracted. A lot of you need someone to talk to about it – someone who’s not going to freak out on you – someone who will just accept you and help you think through the choices you’re making, and what you’re options are.

Now, I really want the research community to realize that they should be working with people like me. So if you call them, when they ask how you heard about the study, say you heard about it from rawTOP. If you’re too embarrassed to say that you can also say you heard about it from “Richard”. (Get it – the nickname for Richard is Dick – I’m a top… Seemed appropriate.)

The other day PigMaster told me I was responsible for about 4% of the traffic on BarebackRT and I’ve sent him hundreds of new registered users (the actual percentage is higher since people clear the cookies in their browser). I’d like the researchers to have a similar realization – that it makes sense to work with the bareback community. That we can be their allies, not their enemies…

So, if you have issues with sex and drugs, and you’re in NYC, give CHEST a call…