Selling amyl nitrate has been illegal in the United States since 1968, but chemicals called alkyl nitrites are still available for purchase. These chemicals produce a similar effect to amyl nitrate when their vapors are inhaled.
The sale of poppers for non-prescribed human consumption is illegal, but many retailers get around this by selling the bottles as leather cleaner, liquid incense or nail polish remover, which allows them to be sold at bodegas, nightclubs, bars, head shops and online stores.
The greatest danger associated with poppers is drinking the liquid, which can be fatal. But there are harmful side effects of inhaling poppers for recreational uses, too, including increased heart rate, headaches, dizziness and fainting. Of particular concern is mixing poppers with Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs; the combination can cause a precipitous drop in blood pressure that can lead to a stroke or death.
“Poppers can change your red blood cells so they can’t get oxygen anymore,” said Dr. Will DeWitt, the clinical director of anal health at Callen-Lorde, a community health center in New York that serves the L.G.B.T.Q. community. “And it only really happens in super-heavy use, but that definitely happens.”
Dr. DeWitt saw a patient recently who went to the emergency room after a four-hour poppers binge that left his lips blue, though he added that such incidents are rare and that reliable research on poppers is scant.
For some, the risks associated with poppers are outweighed by their potential for joy or even freedom.
“If the queer liberation movement, broadly defined, has brought us anything, it’s the pursuit of pleasure as a political strategy for emancipation,” said Adam Zmith, 37, the author of “Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures,” who lives in London. “That’s the whole point.”
