Drug+and+Alcohol+Abuse+by+Women+in+America

 **Drug and Alcohol Abuse by Women in America** Throughout history, women have been using an abusing drugs and alcohol. The attitudes and drugs may have changed throughout the years; however dependency still remains an issue of women today (Kandall 1). When studying such issues as drug addiction, it is important to separate female from males. Women possess different characteristics from men and most be studied on their own. Because research on female drug abuse has not been done until recently, the effects of drug abuse are far less understood for women than for men (Wetherington iii). The causes of female addiction vary from person to person (CUNCASA 85), however once a female uses a drug, the opportunity for dependence becomes opened and those who are vulnerable are likely to become addicted. Drug abuse is a more acute problem and more widespread than in any other era (Hanson & Fleckenstein 2). This means that the environment for drug use is very accessible by women, and society is allowing for the trouble to spread. Women who use drugs are physically and emotionally drained and the road to recovery is made more difficult because of the popularity and pressure towards female drug use. Because of the role women play in society, their needs are different from men in terms of treatment and recovery. Therefore it is important that females receive specific treatment designed for their unique case. **A History of Female Drug Abuse** Female drug use has existed for many centuries. Just as the roles and outlooks for women have changed throughout the years, so has the context of drug use. In the 1850`s, women medicated themselves with drugs not knowing the damages of such narcotics (Kandall 1). They were also given opiates and sedatives by doctors; the negative effects of new drugs were still unknown. Women`s addiction to alcohol and other drugs was often the unintended outcome of the latest well-meaning treatment approaches (Straussner & Brown 13). An example of this is when morphine was used to cure alcohol addiction, and cocoa syrup was praised as a cure for morphine addiction (Straussner & Brown 13). In fact, Freud recommended the use of cocaine as a panacea for pain, exhaustion, and low spirits (Straussner & Brown 13). By 1890, drug use had peaked and began to decrease by 1900, partly due to the social changes taking place in the United States. Physicians were better aware of the dangers of drug use, and stopped using such drugs as opiates to cure women`s diseases (Wetherington 10). The Harrison Act of 1914 introduced repressive drug laws and reinforced negative attitudes towards drug users that persist today (Wetherington 11). Because of this negative stigma attached to drugs users, the issue of addiction was ignored until more recent years. Even when drug addiction became a concern, it was men who were studies and aided. Society was unaware of the differences between female and male drug abuse, and the implications of such mindsets are left to be dealt with today.   **Women vs. Men** One may wonder why it is necessary to study female addicts apart from male addicts. The reason is that a female’s experience with drugs will always differ from a male’s for reasons that ear physical, and social. One difference is that female drug addicts outnumber male addicts in the United States today (Flowers 115). The National Institution for Drug Abuse views drug addiction as a chronic and relapsing disease effecting both men and women. Women and men have different psychological responses to medications and drugs and may develop different manifestations of disease as a product of drug use (Wetherington 3). Because drug abuse may present different challenges to women’s health than to men’s, women require different treatment (Wetherington 3). Besides health concerns, women have different patterns in drug use than males do. For example, women become dependent on cocaine, heroin, or marijuana more quickly than men (CUNCASA 85). **Statistics** There have been a number of surveys and studies done in order to better understand the current drug abuse situation. Some of the results done in North America are as follows: according the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 4.5 million women in the U.S. are alcohol abusers or alcoholics, 3.5 million misuse prescription drugs, and 3.1 million regularly use illicit drugs (Straussner & Brown 3). Sixty per cent of adult drinkers are female; five per cent of those are heavy drinkers. One third of the members in AA are females (Flowers 116). The largest substance abuse problem among older women is the misuse of prescription drugs (CUNCASA 84).     **Causes for Addiction and Abuse** There are a number of reasons why drug addicts are the way they are. What leads females to try a drug varies from person to person, however once they try, some go back in search escape and a high (CUNCASA 80). Sometimes, a female will begin taking a drug strictly for medicinal purposes and eventually becomes dependant on the drug (CUNCASA 85). Taking dangerous drugs on purpose however is another story. In the 70’s, gender research began to undercover the reasons why females abuse drugs. The reasons are broken families, physical and sexual abuse, and association with drug using men (CUNCASA 80). Drug addiction stems from a need to fill a void. These attempts to self medicate lead to emotional and social trauma; these are the issues attached to drug addiction. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">**Emotions and the Social World** <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Drug use can be defined as the social and psychological basis of the attraction to a particular drug. When people use drugs, they feel rewarded or satisfied from social pressures (Hanson & Fleckenstein 2). Because drug use has become such mainstream recreation in the present era, more and more people feel the pressure to use drugs, even if they are already addicted. Many social situations present the pressure to use drugs. Drug consumption is found across all income levels, social classes, genders, races, ethnicities, lifestyles and age groups (Hanson & Fleckenstein 2). Even though drugs are common among the populations, there are still many misconceptions of drug addicts. Female drug addicts are often stereotyped either as promiscuous, lazy and selfish, or as week, scared, and trapped into addiction (Anderson 222). These labels make it difficult for addicts to confide in people to seek treatment. Also, the encouragement of fellow drug users makes it hard for addicts to quit, and leads to emotional problems. Seven per cent of those who misuse drugs create emotional and mental health issues from themselves (CUNCASA 89). Once a woman becomes a part of an addiction, she may find herself doing things dangerous things in order to get more drugs, or because she is unaware of risks she is taking. Some of these dangerous activities include prostitution, risky sex, homelessness, and unemployment (CUNCASA 93). In order to quit an addiction, a woman must have the motivation to do so, and in the social context of today, a reason to change is a difficult thing to attain. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">**Conclusion** <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The history of drug addiction tells a story about females who face the same struggle with addiction in men, however in a different way. Women have different reasons for trying and becoming addicted to any certain drugs than men. Drug use also presents unique health concerns for women. In a society that is mainly male dominated, women must fight for equal attention and help in order to overcome their drug addictions. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-no-proof: yes;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">**Bibliography** <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Tammy L. Anderson. __Neither Villain nor Victim: Empowerment and Agency among Women Substance Abusers__. illustrated ed. Rutgers University Press, 2008. Columbia University National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. __Women Under the Influence__. JHU Press, 2006. February 2, 2009. Ronald B. Flowers. __Female Crime, Criminals, and Cellmates: An Exploration of Female Criminality and Delinquency__. McFarland, 1995. February 2, 2009. Glen R. Hanson, Peter J. Venturelli, Annette E. Fleckenstein. __Drugs and Society__. 9, illustrated, revised ed. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2005. February 2, 2009. Stephen R. Kandall. __Substance and Shadow: Women and Addiction in the United States__. Harvard University Press, 1999. February 2, 2009. Shulamith Lala Ashenberg Straussner, Stephanie Brown. __The Handbook of Addiction Treatment for Women: Theory and Practice__. illustrated ed. John Wiley and Sons, 2002. Cora L. Wetherington. __Drug Addiction Research & the Health of Women__. illustrated ed. DIANE Publishing, 1999. Fabruary 2, 2009. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">