Effects of drugs

A few glasses of alcohol can make you feel freer and loosen you up. Maybe you feel more like having sex. Many people feel less inhibited when under the influence of alcohol. This means you're more likely to do things you wouldn't want or dare to do when sober.

Men have more trouble getting an erection or ejaculating when under the influence of alcohol. Women are often not really in the mood for sex after drinking too much, or have a less intense orgasm..

The effects of hash and weed depend heavily on where you are and the atmosphere. Smoking them can make you feel very relaxed. With a low dose, most people have an increased body sensitivity and desire for sex. As a result, you are more likely to initiate sex, or say yes more easily if the other person asks if you’re in the mood.

Using hash and weed reduces your inhibitions. As a result, you might do things you would refuse to do when not under the influence. Someone could then overstep your sexual boundaries, or you could overstep another person's boundaries. Hash and weed cause a dry mouth, vagina, penis or anus in some young people. This means penetration is painful and difficult. If you smoke for prolonged periods, you may feel less like having sex.

Ecstasy is also called the ‘love drug’. When you take this little pill, everyone seems to be loving and kind. Ecstasy users really like to kiss and cuddle.

Ecstasy raises the body’s temperature. If you take one and then dance for a long time in a hot place without drinking enough, you could dry out and overheat. It’s best to drink 1 glass of water an hour, also during the hours after you have taken ecstasy.

Having an orgasm on ecstasy is more difficult. Ecstasy causes increased muscle tension, and a dry mouth, vagina, penis or anus in some young people. This means penetration under the influence of ecstasy is painful and difficult. There is a good chance that you will get cuts and abrasions on your penis, in your vagina or in your anus.

GHB numbs the nervous system. It was originally an anaesthetic. It can make you feel really horny.

Finding the right dose of GHB is difficult. A ‘cap’ of GHB doesn't seem much, but it may contain a high concentration of active ingredient. Enough to become unconscious. If you don't know exactly how much is in it, you must be extra careful. That way you can avoid ingesting more GHB than you’d like to. GHB is also known as the ‘rape drug’; after ingesting ‘too much’ GHB, a person becomes unconscious. Consequently, he or she cannot put up any resistance to unwanted sex.

A snort of coke makes some people feel more like having sex. Lots of men who’ve used coke have an erection for a longer period and don't come so quickly.

If you use a lot of coke, having an orgasm or getting an erection is more difficult. If you use coke for a prolonged period, the desire for sex may disappear altogether. People who’ve taken coke are very self-centred; they pay little attention to their partner when having sex. There's a chance they will overstep the other person’s boundaries.

Poppers influence perception and give a brief, intense horny feeling almost immediately. You can have penetrative sex more easily and for longer.

Known side effects of poppers are: thumping headache, nausea, hefty palpitations. Poppers cause irritation to the skin and eyes. Some men lose their erection when they’ve taken poppers.  As a result, they use poppers together with erection medicines like Viagra. That’s extremely dangerous! This combination may lead to acute lowering of the blood pressure, risking unconsciousness or damage to vital organs.

Ketamine is a narcotic with hallucinatory effects. One small snort is enough to make you feel horny. 

You are less aware of pain on ketamine. Under the influence of ketamine, you don’t notice if the sex is painful. Ketamine use often causes muscle tension and a dry mouth, vagina, penis or anus. Penetration, fingering or inserting sex toys, especially large ones, into a vagina or anus often causes small, open sores. If you are not using a condom, you and the other person are at extra risk of STI infection.
After using a high dosage of ketamine, you may end up in a ‘K-hole’. This is a kind of unconscious state where sound, image, feelings and thoughts are not synchronised. It is a very unpleasant experience.

Boys and men use medicines like these to have an erection. For example, if they can't get a hard-on because of prolonged drug use or stress.

Beware of combinations. Combining poppers with Viagra is particularly dangerous. Always take the prescribed dose of an erection medicine.

Speed makes you feel energetic. It takes longer to have an orgasm when on speed and sex may last a lot longer. Speed makes some people very horny, but others not at all.

Speed causes heightened muscle tension, making gentle and careful movements more difficult. This can result in rougher, more painful sex. It also takes longer to have an orgasm.

These drugs change your perception of people and things around you. Sex doesn’t feel the same under the influence of hallucinogens. You may have completely different thoughts and feelings than when you are sober. Some people have positive experiences with sex after using hallucinogens. The sex and the bond with their partner is more intense. The effect of hallucinogens varies enormously from person to person.

It is possible that your hallucinogenic experience is completely different to your partner’s one. This means you feel less of a connection with him or her during sex. So sex can be a lonely experience. A trip on these drugs can distract you in such a way that you no longer feel sexual arousal. You may have a bad trip. Which means you see and feel all kinds of scary things that make you very anxious.

The group of new psychoactive substances (called NPS or designer drugs) is large and very diverse. These drugs have varying effects and each of them can lead to a different experience of sex.

Up until now, there has been very little research into these new drugs. So there is very little known about the effects and experiences of their use. If you use one, you are your own guinea pig, also when you combine them with sex.