Shanley opens our conversation with a primer on definitions: “When we think strictly about what drugs are used in chemsex or chillouts, it’s typically mephedrone, G and crystal meth. But if there’s a drug that’s tied up in your sex, then it is what we are calling chemsex.” He continues: “MDMA or ecstasy have a lot more emphasis on empathy, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to want to fuck. G and crystal meth can be for the sheer enjoyment of the high, but that moreish, disinhibited sexualised feeling is to the fore.”
Today, according to Shanley, G remains the most popular drug on this scene. A relative caginess around its consumption is becoming increasingly dispensed with in favour of greater honesty, an openness in laying bare the potential vulnerabilities faced by people who use the drug. He explains: “What’s concerning for us at the clinic are the stories where you go to the party, you take off your jocks, and if you go under it’s your own fault. If you’ve woken up and you feel that someone has had sex with you, you say, ‘that was my fault, I took too much G, what was I expecting?’”