What a waste
Paddy Bloor's parents would learn that the drug on which their son had overdosed was GHB.
within the LGBT community GHB is known as one of the three key drugs used in chemsex, the drug-fuelled sex scene particularly popular among gay men. Its rising use over the last decade has entwined with increasing availability: Dealers sell GHB through gay dating apps.
The underlying causes that brought Paddy to the vial of GHB, and to that party in Brighton, however, are more complex and emerge, piece by piece, as each member of the family recounts to BuzzFeed News Paddy’s past.
This begins with Graham Bloor (Paddy's father) saying he will talk about chemsex and his son but not in front of his wife. As Barbara heads inside the house, Graham starts to reveal what he knows about the circumstances of Paddy’s death.
“He came down from London, stayed in Brighton with friends, went to a party that evening. We know he was trying to get more drugs. In the early hours — we’ve got his text messages — he was finally given some extra stuff, then went off to [another] party and we’re back to the chemsex scene, because he hooked into that. It was at a [chemsex] party that he died. The guys there, the police say, acted very reasonably: They were sensible people in their thirties, holding down a job. I think Paddy just made a mistake with taking too much.”
Graham pauses, trying to find the right words. “I do know that there are other types of party,” he says, where in chemsex settings young men “might get abused, passed around. I hope to god Paddy wasn’t in that state. It’s a constant worry to me.” He says Paddy was selling drugs to fund his habit.
“If you’re part of a sex party scene, there’s a very fine line between selling sex and selling drugs, so I… I just don’t know if Paddy sold himself.” Graham becomes upset again. “I want to know as much as possible. But it’s not nice.”
What each member of the family knows is that Paddy was unhappy. “He wasn’t OK,” says Tom. “I think he knew his life was going in a dangerous place.”
There are many gay men on the chemsex scene, or using GHB recreationally, who are merely hedonists, dabbling, and enjoying everything. Paddy resat an exam early in 2018. He passed it, went out celebrating, and with that he was off the wagon. He saw his psychologist for the fourth time on March 20. The following morning he was in a coma.