Marleen (63) and her husband have been using drugs while swinging for five years now. Together with friends, they use 3-MMC during sex. It was initially exciting, but she gradually became less satisfied with her use. “The fun of using drugs is gone.”

“De eerste keer drugs was ook meteen de eerste keer swingen. Met een bevriend stel deden mijn man en ik een pilletje bij hen thuis. Dat beviel super goed. Je hebt zo’n sterke verbinding met elkaar. Dit is nu vijf jaar geleden. Daarvoor had ik nooit drugs gebruikt. Ik was altijd heel braaf en het kwam niet voor in mijn omgeving. Na die eerste keer dachten we: dit moeten we vaker doen. 

I like swinging with drugs more than without—because of that connection. It’s more like porn otherwise; I’m kind of done with that. I think we use drugs responsibly. We don’t do it more than once a month. At first, I was very curious; I tried all kinds of things—ketamine, GHB, cocaine—but only once. I know what I like—half a pill and then MDMA. I don’t experiment anymore.   

We also still have sex without drugs. That sex is still good, but it’s more about the sex then. Sex with drugs is more about the feeling of love for each other. When we take a pill together, we constantly tell each other how much we love each other. We tell other people about our drug experiences, and sometimes they want to try it themselves. Like my son. I said, that’s fine, but do it at our house. 

I don’t know if I would have wanted to discover this earlier. It seems like the people who started this at a younger age enjoy it less than we do. Maybe it’s also because we have fewer worries. We’re retired.”