Calgary MP asks health minister to study poppers, potentially opening door for safe supply

published on August 9, 2021 by Sarah Rieger in CBC News

A Calgary MP is asking the federal health minister to study the possible benefits or harms of “poppers” — a drug primarily used by men who have sex with men — with the possible outcome of creating a safe supply.

Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel Garner said in a letter to federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu that given the widespread use of poppers, or alkyl nitrites, their safety hasn’t received adequate study or consideration.

“The lack of research and attention to this issue is likely, at least in part, related to the stigmatization of LGBTQ+ health care,” Rempel Garner wrote in the letter, which was sent Monday.

“Use of drugs used as sexual aids in other scenarios has been normalized (for example, Viagra, which is used for erectile dysfunction). However, discussion of pharmaceutical-based sexual aids for use in non-heteronormative situations, such as alkyl nitrites, are sometimes still subject to moralization in public discourse.”…