Drug Facts - Women/Girls & Drugs
Overview
A three-year study on women and young girls (ages
8–22) from the National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA)
at Columbia University revealed that girls and young
women use substances for reasons different than boys
and young men. The study also found that the signals
and situations of higher risk are different and that
girls and young women are more vulnerable to abuse
and addiction: they get hooked faster and suffer the
consequences sooner than boys and young men.
In 2007, lifetime, past year, and past month drug
use rates were lower for women than for men. Women
accounted for 32.3% of the nationwide admissions to
treatment during 2007.
Extent of Use
According to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use
and Health (NSDUH), approximately 42.9% of women
ages 12 or older reported using an illicit drug at
some point in their lives. Approximately 12.2% of
females ages 12 and older reported past year use of
an illicit drug and 6.3% reported past month use of
an illicit drug.
The rate of substance dependence or abuse for males
aged 12 or older in 2008 was nearly twice as high as
the rate for females (11.5% vs. 6.4%). Among youths
aged 12 to 17, however, the rate of substance
dependence or abuse was higher among females than
males (8.2% vs. 7.0%).
According to the
Center
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
approximately 34.5% of female high school students
surveyed nationwide in 2007 used marijuana during
their lifetime. This is down from 35.9% in 2005 and
37.6% in 2003. Inhalant abuse among surveyed high
school females has increased from 11.4% in 2003, to
13.5% in 2005 and 14.3% in 2007.
According to data from the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, approximately 59.3% of State and 47.6%
of Federal female prisoners surveyed in 2004
indicated that they used drugs in the month before
their offense. Additionally, approximately 60.2% of
State and 42.8% of Federal female prisoners surveyed
in 2004 met drug dependence or abuse criteria.
Health Effects
A National Vital Statistics Report found that 38,396
persons died of drug-induced causes in 2006. Of the
drug-induced deaths, 13,889 were females.
Drug-induced deaths include deaths from dependent
and nondependent use of drugs (legal and illegal
use) and poisoning from medically prescribed and
other drugs. It excludes unintentional injuries,
homicides, and other causes indirectly related to
drug use. Also excluded are newborn deaths due to
mother's drug use.
The
Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) collects data
on drug-related visits to emergency departments (ED)
nationwide. In 2006, there were 1,742,887 drug
related ED episodes. The rates of ED visits
involving cocaine, marijuana, and heroin were higher
for males than females, but the rates for stimulants
did not differ by gender during 2006.
The impact of drug use and addiction can be far
reaching. Cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer,
HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and lung disease can all be
affected by drug abuse. Some of these effects occur
when drugs are used at high doses or after prolonged
use, while some may occur after just one use. Drug
abuse not only weakens the immune system but is also
linked to risky behaviors like needle sharing and
unsafe sex. The combination greatly increases the
likelihood of acquiring HIV-AIDS, hepatitis and many
other infectious diseases. (Source for paragraph:
National Institute on Drug Abuse,
Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
manual,
A Guide to the Clinical Care of Women with HIV/AIDS,
addresses the primary care needs unique to women
infected with HIV infection and provides information
specifically about substance abuse among these
women. Also see the National Institutes of Health's
AIDSinfo site on
General Information for Women to learn more
about the prevention, treatment, and impact of
HIV/AIDS on females.
Effects on Pregnancy Alcohol and drug use by
pregnant women is a public health problem with
potentially severe consequences. Combined data from
the 2002 to 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and
Health shows that past month alcohol use was highest
among women who were not pregnant and did not have
children living in the household (63.0%) and lowest
for women in the second and third trimesters (7.8
and 6.2%, respectively). Similar patters were seen
among women for marijuana, cigarette and binge
alcohol use.
Research has shown that babies born to women who
used marijuana during their pregnancies display
altered responses to visual stimuli, increased
tremulousness, and a high-pitched cry, which may
indicate problems with neurological development.
Heroin abuse during pregnancy and its many
associated environmental factors (e.g., lack of
prenatal care) have been associated with adverse
consequences including low birth weight, an
important risk factor for later developmental delay.
Knowledge of the effects of methamphetamine during
pregnancy is limited. However, the few human studies
that exist on the subject have shown increased rates
of premature delivery, placental abruption, fetal
growth retardation, and heart and brain
abnormalities. These studies, though, are difficult
to interpret due to methodological issues, such as
small sample size and maternal use of other drugs.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has created a
Prenatal Effects page to focus on the impact
that a mother's drug use can have on the developing
fetus.
Treatment
Of the approximately 1.8 million admissions to
drug/alcohol treatment in the U.S. during 2007,
32.3% were female. For 18% of the female admissions
in 2007, alcohol only was the primary substance of
abuse. Fifteen percent involved alcohol along with a
secondary drug.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration's (SAMHSA) 2007 National
Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services
(N-SSATS), which presents data from more than 13,000
facilities, approximately 32% of the facilities
offered special programs or groups for adult women
and 14% offered programs or groups for pregnant or
postpartum women.
SAMHSA offers a Treatment Facility Locator service
to aid in identifying treatment programs throughout
the country. Using the
Treatment Facility Locator site, individuals can
search for programs/facilities in their area and can
also identify facilities that offer special programs
for females. This information can also be obtained
by calling 800-662-HELP (4357).
Arrests & Sentencing
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, during 2007, there
were a total of 1,033,203 state and local arrests
for drug abuse violations in the United States where
gender information was available. Of these drug
abuse violation arrests, 199,262 involved females.
In FY 2004, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested and
booked 19,434 female suspects for Federal offenses,
representing 13.8% of the total arrests made by this
agency. Of the U.S. Marshals Service arrestees
booked on drug offense charges, 14.5% were female.
Also in FY 2004, the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) arrested 4,285 females, representing 15.6% of
all DEA arrests. Approximately 1,188 of the female
DEA arrests in FY 2004 involved methamphetamine.
From October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003, there
were 9,127 female offenders convicted of a Federal
offense. Approximately 82.3% of the female offenders
convicted of felony drug offenses in FY 2003 were
sentenced to incarceration. On September 30, 2003,
there were 10,493 female offenders in Federal
prison. Females accounted for 8.0% of the Federal
prisoners serving time for drug offenses.
At yearend 2005, there were approximately 88,200
sentenced female prisoners under State jurisdiction.
Approximately 28.7% of incarcerated females were
sentenced for drug offenses compared to 18.9% of
incarcerated males.
During FY 2008, there were 25,332 Federal defendants
whose gender was reported to the U.S. Sentencing
Commission who were charged with a drug offense.
Approximately 12.3% of these defendants were female.
For 17.4% of the female defendants, methamphetamine
was the type of drug involved in the case.
A
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) report found
that about half of women offenders confined in State
prisons had been using alcohol, drugs, or both at
the time of the offense for which they had been
incarcerated. About 6 in 10 women in State prison
described themselves as using drugs in the month
before the offense and 5 in 10 described themselves
as a daily user of drugs. Nearly 1 in 3 women
serving time in State prisons said they had
committed the offense which brought them to prison
in order to obtain money to support their need for
drugs.
A report from the
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP), that summarized research on
female gangs, states that drug offenses are among
the most common offenses committed by female gang
members. In Los Angeles County, an analysis of
lifetime arrest records of female gang members
revealed that drug offenses were the most frequent
cause for arrest. A special tabulation from Chicago
showed that between 1993 and 1996, either drug
offenses or violent offenses were the most common
cause for arrest of female gang members.
Taken from the
Office of National Drug Control Policy Website.