The LGBT health advocates also called on the TGA to consider the mental health impact of a decision to “criminalise the practice of an estimated 90,000 adult gay and bisexual men, as well as an undetermined number of queer women, non-binary people, and heterosexual men and women who currently use nitrite inhalants”. Instead, this was a “legitimate, beneficial and therapeutic use” of poppers, which help prevent spasms and tearing during anal sex. “Use as sex aids due to their muscle relaxant properties should not be considered misuse and abuse of these substances,” they argued.
The authors also submitted the interim decision was contradictory because it claimed poppers had “little or no therapeutic benefit” despite conceding they are used for their “euphoric … analgesic and muscle relaxant effects”. Reeders, Cornelisse and their co-authors accused the TGA delegate of “listing the benefits of use as risks of use”, which they argued “perhaps a prejudgment of the scheduling decision”. The TGA has claimed that there is a “high potential for misuse and abuse of alkyl nitrites for euphoric properties, and as sex aids due to their muscle relaxant properties” in “particular sections of the community”. The proposal would list alkyl nitrites in schedule 9, along with the most serious drugs and effectively criminalise possession and use. Poppers dilate the user’s blood vessels, helping receptive sexual partners comfortably enjoy anal sex.
