Banning Amyl Nitrate - Australia's War on Poppers

Poppers—otherwise known as amyl, and commonly used as a party drug or sexual aid by members of the LGBTQI+ community—have come under fire from a regulatory body within Australia's Department of Health.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration is looking to crack down on distribution and use of amyl and reschedule the substance so that it’s ranked alongside the likes of heroin and MDMA. Scientifically though, research around the allegedly harmful side-effects of amyl is relatively scarce—and according to Dr. Denton Callander, Senior Research Fellow at the Kirby Institute, the TGA is lacking serious evidence to warrant the ban. Denton, along with many others, argues that prohibition doesn’t work, and suggests that in the case of a low-risk substance like amyl it will only put members of the LGBTQI+ community in jeopardy as they inevitably continue to use it.

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