Hey Dr. Bob,

I'm a realtive newbie to the circuit party scene. I now live in the village in NYC. I recently received a special invitation to attend a dance party that came with a packet of three pills (a party pack for " extra fun without the worry"). A good friend gave this to me and he's healthy and says it's safe and really really fun. I'm a bit leary but would like to try it. What do you think?

Circuit-Party-Guy

Hi Circuit-Party-Guy,

Your invitation to attend the party came equipped with a packet of party drugs for "extra fun without the worry?" Hmm . . . although I can't be sure over the Internet exactly what pills are contained in your party pack pill potpourri, considering you are writing from NYC, I can guess the three mystery pills are (1) Viagra (or Cialis), (2) tenofovir (an antiretroviral HIV medication) and (3) Ecstasy most likely laced with methamphetamine and other stuff. Those who think this trio is a prescription for a worry-free night of hedonistic bumping and grinding, both on and off the dance floor, are sadly mistaken. The rise of these party packs has paralleled the rise in new HIV, syphilis and gonorrhea rates in gay men. Coincidence? I tend to doubt it from the stories we are hearing at the Frascino Medical Group. The Ecstasy-methamphetamine combination will rev you up and tear down your inhibitions while making you horny, greatly increasing the likelihood you will engage in risky sexual activities. The blue diamond (Viagra) will assure that you'll walk around like a unicorn all night and the tenofovir is supposed to allow you to go commando-Rambo (unprotected) on your sex partners without worry about becoming "positively charged" (contracting HIV). I'm sure you'll hear stories from your buddies how they've done these party-packs and then partied like rock stars at the White Party or the Black-and-Blue Party or whatever. However, if they seroconverted or contracted some truly nasty STD, do you think they would brag about it? Nope. Instead they wind up in our medical office bemoaning their gullibility. Perhaps a good way to consider the risk of HIV is to think of pregnancy. I know, I know, gay men don't think about pregnancy much but stay with me for a moment. I'm just trying to make a point, frevinsakes! When straight folks want to start a family they have unprotected sex but often it may take months to years before they actually conceive. Other times pregnancy happens with a single one-night stand. The analogy to these party packs is as follows: Sure, some guys actually do escape becoming infected despite their pharmacologically enhanced Brokeback Mountaineering; however, others are not so lucky. Are you willing to take that risk? Also, how do you really know what's in those pills? Just because it's shaped like a blue diamond doesn't mean it's really pharmaceutical grade Vitamin V (Viagra). And the Ecstasy is dangerous on multiple levels, particularly now that much of the supply is cut with methamphetamines. Circuit-party-guy, the choice is up to you, but since you asked for my opinion, I'd suggest you go to the party but skip the party pack trio of pills. That in my opinion is the only real way to have "fun without the worry!"

Dr. Bob