Written by Dinah Kate Macmillan
We are Chemical Sisters, a political collective with a primary focus on anti-prohibitionism and transfeminism. As women who openly identify as substance users, we approach harm reduction from a distinctly gendered perspective, placing it at the core of our harm reduction initiatives. Our mission is to underscore the critical importance of healthcare, with self-management and self-determination taking center stage in our approach. We passionately advocate for the right to self-care, enabling us to take charge of our well-being, and we strive for unrestricted access to free and safe information.
This is our basis for an anti-prohibitionist society in which all people are free to explore different states of consciousness.
Chemical Sisters’ team providing harm reduction during a festival.
Our experience was born in early 2019, during the Covid-19 pandemic and amid lockdown. At the beginning of our journey, we focused more on personal care and attention to well-being by making and sharing our lived experiences.
We soon broadened our call for collective experience sharing. Our goal was to understand what conscious alteration through psychoactive substances means to and is experienced by women – a topic seldom discussed. With this in mind, we created a safe space to share, based on the principles of harm reduction, which focuses on judgment-free spaces to obtain peer support. The goal was really to make people feel free and safe, to be able to talk candidly about their experiences and not make them feel lonelier.
Indeed, we rise up against medicine and science that do not consider women and nonbinary gender people in research and clinical trials. They condemn us to total ignorance with respect to recommendations on dosages, risks, and complications of legal and illegal substances.
Harm Reduction materials developed by Chemical Sisters.
We started crafting articles to inform women using substances, covering diverse topics such as dosage variations between genders, interactions with other substances, and considerations with birth control pills, hormonal drugs, therapies, menstruation, and chemsex. For instance, we developed leaflets on HIV and substance interactions with antiretroviral therapies. While substance use is discouraged, it may not necessarily hinder the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy. Establishing a good relationship with healthcare providers is crucial, as informing them of the patient’s consumption intentions helps tailor the most suitable therapy.
| SOME INTERACTIONS – Amphetamines have potentially dangerous interactions with Ritonavir. – Ritonavir increases the blood levels of ecstasy and amphetamines. – Ecstasy has possible interactions with protease inhibitors or Efavirenz – Cocaine has interactions with Nevirapine or Efavirenz that are thought to result in an increased risk of hepatotoxicity, but there are no studies that confirm this. – PCP (Angel Dust) has possible interactions with protease inhibitors and Efavirenz. It can result in a higher concentration of PCP, resulting in toxicity. – Ketamine: Patients treated with protease inhibitors are at risk of ketamine toxicity due to its blood accumulation, though little evidence is currently present. – Heroin can be metabolized faster when used concomitantly with protease inhibitors and Efavirenz, causing withdrawal symptoms. – Methadone doubles the blood levels of AZT. – Ritonavir, Efavirenz & Nevirapine reduce the concentration of heroin and methadone, leading to withdrawal symptoms. |
We aim for safe and inclusive entertainment spaces. Unfortunately, the world of substances, legal and otherwise, often operates within a patriarchal framework where men predominantly control and administer these substances. The information available tends to adhere to a single standard, primarily catering to male physiology. It’s crucial to recognize that men and women have different homeostasis, particularly concerning drug use. Given the stigma and patriarchal models surrounding drug culture, women who use substances must prioritize gathering information that helps understand our unique physiological differences. This knowledge empowers us to safeguard our health and pleasure in social settings.
These are some examples:
- The effect of many substances, such as MDMA and alcohol, depends on the relationship between the dose taken and body weight: it is good to consider the dose to be taken according to your body characteristics regardless of what others use and without being others to decide which dose is right for you.
- Substances such as alcohol need certain enzymes in the body to degrade them. Women and men tend to have different quantities of these enzymes, lower in women and higher in men: for this and other reasons, women tend to get drunk faster than men.
- The female body is subject to hormonal changes during the month: little or at all studied is the relationship between changes in hormones and the effects of substances. In particular, ecstasy, cocaine, and Amphetamines can create menstrual disorders. Use caution if you take it during your menstrual cycle.
- Vomiting and diarrhea, common side effects of the use of substances, may compromise the effect of the pill birth control. To safeguard its effects, try to Take it at least 2 hours before consumption.
- There were differences in the metabolism of some substances: some benzodiazepines (alprazolam in particular) have a longer half-life in women, increasing the possibility of adverse effects of this class of substances.
- When using substances, it is important to consider drug, set, and setting: choose, if possible, a safe setting or a place and a company to make you feel relaxed and safe.
- Alteration is never an excuse for violence. Your state of conscience is not a fault but rather an aggravating circumstance for those who have exercised violence: CONSENT IS EMPIRICAL INDEPENDENT OF ANY STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
As part of the SisterWUD network connected to the EuronPUD network, we actively engage in campaigns and initiatives, including “Support Don’t Punish,” and contribute to European research and focus groups. Recently, we published “Fragments of Untold Stories,” addressing violence against women who use drugs during the lockdown. Another significant annual campaign we support is the 16 Days of Action Against Violence Against Women Who Use Drugs, running from November 25 to December 10. Our network collaborations emphasize the importance of community involvement in developing best practices for addressing violence against women who use drugs.
The EVAWUD campaign advocates ending violence and improving policies from a human rights and harm reduction perspective. We, along with WHRIN, EuronPUD, YouthRise, and ENWA, call for an end to the war on drugs to stop violence against women who use drugs. Legislation and criminal justice practices must be reviewed and changed to ensure fair and equal treatment for people who use drugs, considering the disproportionately high rates of violence and incarceration experienced by women and gender nonbinary drug users.
Follow the work of Chemical Sisters on social media:
Instagram: @chemicalsisters420
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chemicalsisters420/