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Drag queen Bimini Bon Boulash has spoken out about Britain’s growing problem around ‘chemsex parties’ which have been linked to drug-related deaths and sexual assault

There’s a dark shadow hanging over Britain’s party scene. Concern has been raised after British drag queen Bimini Bon Boulash spoke out about their experiences with ‘chemsex’ parties, an underground phenomenon which sees people consuming illegal drugs to enhance sexual experiences.

In an interview with Paul Brunson on the podcast We Need To Talk, the Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK star opened up about the growing trend in the LGBTQ community. They said: “[Chemsex] is a crisis. There’s a problem more so than ever before.”

According to a report by the British HIV Association conducted in 2021, chemsex is a significant issue in several European countries, including Spain, Italy and Greece. The report found that Britain had the highest proportion of gay men engaging in chemsex, with more than 32% admitting to have participated in the activity.

READ MORE: Inside the dangerous rise of ketamine use as The Vivienne’s cause of death is revealed

Bimini continued: “No one’s going out as much, nightclubs are shutting down. People don’t need to go out now to meet other people. They can just go on an app and hook up with someone. You can basically, if you wanted to, go to a party at any time of the day.”

“I’ve seen first hand the change in drugs being used in clubs… There’s not enough harm reduction. There’s not enough information. We need more spaces that are community driven,” they added.

Chemsex is also referred to as ‘party and play’ which is sometimes abbreviated to ‘PnP’. While any drugs can be used in the act of ‘chemsex’, the three most popular are methamphetamine, mephedrone and GHB.

All of these drugs fall under legal restrictions in the UK, and all can have devastating consequences if misused. Ketamine use has also been linked with chemsex.

One of the most concerning parts of the crisis is that it’s difficult to find data on it. Speaking to ITV News, a sexual health consultant Dr Naomi Fitzgerald revealed she has seen a rise in chemsex over the last decade. She said that a third of all drug related presentations at King’s College Hospital were from GHB and crystal meth – two drugs closely linked with ‘chemsex’.

Social psychologist Marc Svensson spoke to ITV about the rise in chemsex drugs: “You could refer to this as a kind of a silent crisis or epidemic…it’s happening, we know that it’s happening.”

Worse still, the drugs have also been linked to fatalities. The same investigation conducted by ITV in 2023 found that three people die every month from chemsex in London alone.

Chemsex drugs like GHB also can also leave their users more vulnerable to sexual abuse. In 2019, Channel 4, Buzzfeed News and the Terrence Higgins Trust launched a major survey gay male GHB users. They found that almost half of users had overdosed and passed out from the drug. A further one in four said they knew of someone who had died as a result of using this drug.

There is a lack of education around these drugs and their potentially fatal consequences. Most of the 2,700 survey respondents admitted that they were unaware that snoring while on GHB could be a dangerous warning that someone is slipping into a lethal coma.

Equally disturbing, the same survey found that the drug can also lead to sexual abuse. An overdose of GHB can lead to incoherency, convulsions and unconsciousness, making the user more vulnerable to assault. More than a quarter of respondents who used GHB reported being sexually assaulted while under the influence.

The dark trend has also been closely linked with HIV infections. According to a study conducted between 2013 to 2016, men who used chemsex drugs or who had sex without a condom with multiple partners were at increased risk of acquiring the potentially fatal virus.

Drag queen Bimini Bon Boulash has spoken out about Britain’s growing problem around ‘chemsex parties’ which have been linked to drug-related deaths and sexual assault

There’s a dark shadow hanging over Britain’s party scene. Concern has been raised after British drag queen Bimini Bon Boulash spoke out about their experiences with ‘chemsex’ parties, an underground phenomenon which sees people consuming illegal drugs to enhance sexual experiences.

In an interview with Paul Brunson on the podcast We Need To Talk, the Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK star opened up about the growing trend in the LGBTQ community. They said: “[Chemsex] is a crisis. There’s a problem more so than ever before.”

According to a report by the British HIV Association conducted in 2021, chemsex is a significant issue in several European countries, including Spain, Italy and Greece. The report found that Britain had the highest proportion of gay men engaging in chemsex, with more than 32% admitting to have participated in the activity.

READ MORE: Inside the dangerous rise of ketamine use as The Vivienne’s cause of death is revealed

Bimini continued: “No one’s going out as much, nightclubs are shutting down. People don’t need to go out now to meet other people. They can just go on an app and hook up with someone. You can basically, if you wanted to, go to a party at any time of the day.”

“I’ve seen first hand the change in drugs being used in clubs… There’s not enough harm reduction. There’s not enough information. We need more spaces that are community driven,” they added.

Chemsex is also referred to as ‘party and play’ which is sometimes abbreviated to ‘PnP’. While any drugs can be used in the act of ‘chemsex’, the three most popular are methamphetamine, mephedrone and GHB.

All of these drugs fall under legal restrictions in the UK, and all can have devastating consequences if misused. Ketamine use has also been linked with chemsex.

One of the most concerning parts of the crisis is that it’s difficult to find data on it. Speaking to ITV News, a sexual health consultant Dr Naomi Fitzgerald revealed she has seen a rise in chemsex over the last decade. She said that a third of all drug related presentations at King’s College Hospital were from GHB and crystal meth – two drugs closely linked with ‘chemsex’.

Social psychologist Marc Svensson spoke to ITV about the rise in chemsex drugs: “You could refer to this as a kind of a silent crisis or epidemic…it’s happening, we know that it’s happening.”

Worse still, the drugs have also been linked to fatalities. The same investigation conducted by ITV in 2023 found that three people die every month from chemsex in London alone.

Chemsex drugs like GHB also can also leave their users more vulnerable to sexual abuse. In 2019, Channel 4, Buzzfeed News and the Terrence Higgins Trust launched a major survey gay male GHB users. They found that almost half of users had overdosed and passed out from the drug. A further one in four said they knew of someone who had died as a result of using this drug.

There is a lack of education around these drugs and their potentially fatal consequences. Most of the 2,700 survey respondents admitted that they were unaware that snoring while on GHB could be a dangerous warning that someone is slipping into a lethal coma.

Equally disturbing, the same survey found that the drug can also lead to sexual abuse. An overdose of GHB can lead to incoherency, convulsions and unconsciousness, making the user more vulnerable to assault. More than a quarter of respondents who used GHB reported being sexually assaulted while under the influence.

The dark trend has also been closely linked with HIV infections. According to a study conducted between 2013 to 2016, men who used chemsex drugs or who had sex without a condom with multiple partners were at increased risk of acquiring the potentially fatal virus.

Linda Nolan’s stepson, who had also been fighting cancer, has tragically died. Lloyd died on Tuesday after fighting throat cancer.

Lloyd, the son of Linda’s husband, Brian, had been diagnosed with throat cancer in September 2023. His tumour was too large and close to his vocal cords, so surgery had been ruled out. Linda, who was also battling cancer, had been supporting Lloyd, who underwent an intense round of radiotherapy.

A family friend said: “They were fighting side by side, Linda would finish her treatment and text him to check in. They joked about their meds, shared their side effects, cried together too. Linda really thought he’d outlive her. She needed that belief.”

Lloyd’s cousin also took to social media to share a touching tribute as she explained cancer had “ripped” her family apart. She said: “My brain won’t accept this is true. My big cousin.. @lloydahudson… The one that took me to my first ever London warehouse DnB rave, played wild with me… But protected me, could make me belly laugh with crude humour… But also have the best deep and meaningfuls. I have to hold on to the memories… Some of the best and craziest bastard memories I have ever made that I will take to the grave.

“But right now the devastation is clouding everything. What I wouldn’t give for one more heart-to-heart round the park, or just a pizza night. I haven’t even got the mental strength to seek out any pictures of us when we were young and I so desperately want to see them right now… The 3 most recent pics we took are were still in my camera roll.”

She went on to add: “I hope you were welcomed by your Pops and Aunty Lin and you are no longer suffering. The injustice of you being SO insightful recently and having so many years ripped away from you is the part that is destroying me more than anything. I have been sat here crying hoping this was all a really bad nightmare.. but as time goes by the reality is becoming clearer and it’s really swept my legs from under me. Cancer can f**k off. It has literally ripped my family apart on both sides and every angle for the past 5 months.”

While undergoing treatment, Lloyd was rushed to hospital after suffering a bleed when ulcers had formed around his tumour, causing further complications. But last year, things appeared to be hopeful for him after scans confirmed that his throat cancer had cleared.

A friend said: “Linda was absolutely over the moon. She kept saying ‘I’ll be the one to go, but he is going to be fine,’ she clung to that.” Sadly, when it emerged that Linda’s tumours had metastasised to her brain, Lloyd also discovered that his cancer had spread to his lungs and was incurable.

It had later spread to his mouth, brain and liver. But those close to Lloyd said he remained strong for the people around him. “He was brave, selfless and dignified,” a friend said, adding: “He never wanted pity, he just wanted to beat it. But this disease is cruel.” A source claimed that Linda would be “heartbroken” after the cruel disease took another member of her family.

Linda tragically died after contracting double pneumonia following her courageous fight with cancer in January this year and was laid to rest in Blackpool, where she had lived with her family. Her husband, Brian, also tragically died in 2007 following a fight with the cruel disease.

Her sister, Bernie also died from cancer in July 2013, having been diagnosed with breast cancer three years prior. Despite being given the all-clear in February 2012, just months later, Bernie confirmed that her cancer had returned and metastasised to her brain, lungs, liver and bones,

Anne Nolan, had also fought cancer having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. She underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy before being given the clear after six months of treatment. 20 years later, almost to the day, Anne’s cancer returned but in a different breast.

In 2022, the singer and actress revealed she had beaten the disease again. Youngest sister, Coleen, who fronts Loose Women announced in July 2023 that she had been diagnosed with basal-cell carcinoma – a form of skin cancer, which she initially believed was eczema.

Brother Brian Nolan was also diagnosed with level 2 prostate cancer just three days after Linda’s death. Speaking to the Mirror in a rare interview, Brian said: “I just want cancer to leave us alone. You’re never ready for somebody to say: ‘Yes, you’ve got cancer’. It’s like being hit by a train. You start plunging into the abyss of: ‘I’m going to die’. The urologist stood up and said ‘We’re going to treat this and we’re going to cure this’. I’m focusing on that and hope to God I can have the courage my sisters had.”

The Macmillan Support Line offers confidential support to people living with cancer and their loved ones. If you need to talk, call us on 0808 808 0000.

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