Boofing, the [Maine Access Points] experts explain, is a great way to allow your veins some time to heal up if they’ve been damaged by too much intravenous drug use. Boofing, they say, reduces the likelihood of developing an infection, which can lead to brain damage.
The MAP experts also explain that boofing can be an “intimate activity” with a romantic partner, but it can also be a way to avoid wasting drugs if you were planning to inject already-prepared narcotics but then struggle to find a vein that hasn’t already been destroyed by previous injections.
Boofing is also a handy stress reduction technique if a user is growing frustrated because their having a hard time “hitting” with the usual needle-to-the-arm method.
“You’re like, ‘Okay, I’m getting really f*****g frustrated. This is really, like, I’m not… It’s not working. Okay, I have this other option, too.’ Right?” one of the experts explains.
Some drug-users who are “used to inserting things in that area” will have an easier time executing a proper boof, MAP states. But for those less experienced with sticking things up their butts, the experts explain that you should use your finger or thumb to guide the syringe and get it to “thumb knuckle depth” before depressing the plunger.
Going any deeper than an inch or so risks perforating your rectum, they warn.
An additional warning: Under no circumstances should you reuse a syringe after you’ve shoved it up your butt.
“That’s extremely dangerous, and can cause sepsis very quickly,” they warn.
>>>
Both before and after a boof, the public health experts say performing an enema — including with a turkey baster, if the boofer finds an enema kit too expensive — can help improve the hygiene of the boofing experience.
Absent a post-boof enema, contaminants in the drug supply can “linger” in your rectum.
“Especially with how contaminated the drug supply is, it can be really important to clean what… the little bit that’s left or what contaminants aren’t actually getting absorbed,” they say. “That stuff will just kind of linger.”
The harm reduction experts also take time to explain and explore the barriers to boofing that may exist.
According to the experts, some drug users may be reluctant to boof because of a history of sexual abuse or trauma, cultural reasons, “or not feeling really comfortable with anything having to do with the butt.”
It’s important, they say, not to force boofing on someone because you never know who may have butt-related trauma. When exploring the concept of boofing in a group drug-use scenario, MAP advises not to tease a fellow drug user who is reluctant to squirt drugs up their butt because it’s “important to respect people’s boundaries.”
And here’s another asinine “harm reduction plan” that hasn’t worked out well:
[Note that the term “collected” as used in the article below includes needles collected by city workers from parks, streets and sidewalks — in other words, most of them — as well as needles actually returned by addicts themselves}
Since 2020, the City of Portland’s Syringe Service Program has distributed thousands more hypodermic needles annually than were collected, according to a Portland Health & Human Services Department memo.
The Monday memo was prepared by city staff after a request from Portland Mayor Mark Dion, in response to public concern over needles being observed littering public and private property in Portland.
Syringe Service Programs throughout the state are overseen and primarily funded by the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention (MECDC), which partners with local nonprofits to give out and collect clean hypodermic needles.
The rules governing the state’s needle exchange program have undergone several significant changes since the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing government lockdowns.
Prior to the pandemic, state policy limited the needle exchange programs to handing out and collecting syringes at a 1:1 ratio.
That limit was removed in March 2020, when the programs were allowed to give out up to 10 needles to each client, and the requirement for clients to hand in needles in order to receive them was removed.
The cap of 10 needles was raised to 50 in April 2021.
Although the pre-pandemic 1:1 exchange ratio was reinstated in August 2021 after Gov. Janet Mills’ State of Emergency ended, in September 2022 the MECDC again removed the exchange requirement and raised the distribution cap to 100 syringes per client.
Portland’s needle exchange, located at 39 Forest Avenue and referred to by the city as simply “The Exchange,” is part of the city’s “suite of harm reduction services,” Portland HHS Interim Director Dena Libner wrote in a June 10 staff memo.
Those “harm reduction” services, in addition to distributing syringes, include wound care, Hepatitis A/B vaccinations, HIV testing and general medical referrals.
“Harm reduction is an evidence-based strategy to engage with people who use drugs, equipping them with life-saving tools and information to create positive change in their lives and potentially save their lives,” Libner wrote.
Data shared by Libner in the staff memo indicates that since 2020, the city has distributed thousands — in some years, hundreds of thousands — more needles than they collected.
