|
  
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.1
In 2003, lifetime, past year, and past month drug use rates were lower for women than for men.2 Women accounted for 30% of the nationwide admissions to treatment during 2002.3
Back to Top 
Extent of Use
According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 51.4 million women ages 12 and older reported using an illicit drug at some point in their lives, representing 41.9% of the females ages 12 and older. Approximately 12.4% of females ages 12 and older reported past year use of an illicit drug and 6.5% reported past month use of an illicit drug.4
Percent of Females Reporting Drug Use, 2003
Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, 4.3% reported using illicit drugs in the month prior to their interview during 2002 and 2003. This rate was significantly lower than the rate among women aged 15 to 44 who were not pregnant (10.4%). (These estimates are based on combined 2002 and 2003 NSDUH data.)5
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 37.6% of female high school students surveyed nationwide in 2003 used marijuana during their lifetime. This is down from 38.4% in 2001 and 43.4% in 1999.6
Percent of High School Females Reporting Drug Use, 1999–2003
According to data from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program, a median of 68.0% of adult female arrestees tested positive for either cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, opiates, or PCP during 2003. Approximately 24% of female arrestees were positive for more than one of these drugs. The ADAM data were compiled by testing female arrestees in 25 U.S. sites.7
Percent of Female Arrestees Testing Positive for Drugs, 2003
Back to Top
Health Effects
A National Vital Statistics Report found that 21,683 persons died of drug-induced causes in 2001. Of the drug-induced deaths, 7,439 (34%) 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 accidents, homicides, and other causes indirectly related to drug use. Also excluded are newborn deaths due to mother’s drug use.8
|
Drug Episode: A drug-related
ED episode is an ED visit that
was induced by or related to the
use of drug(s).
Drug Mention: A drug mention
refers to a substance that was
recorded during an ED episode. Because up to 4 drugs can be reported for each drug abuse episode, there are more mentions than episodes.
|
The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) collects data on drug-related visits to emergency departments (ED) nationwide. In 2002, there were 670,307 ED episodes. Of these episodes, 308,098 involved females, a 22% increase from the 252,128 female ED episodes in 1995. In 2002, there were 1,209,938 ED drug mentions reported to DAWN, 553,874 of which involved females.9
Number of Female ED Drug Mentions, 2000–2002
Back to Top
Treatment
According to the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 565,354 females were admitted to treatment facilities in the United States during 2002, representing 30.1% of the total treatment admissions. Admissions in which smoked cocaine was the primary substance of abuse represented 12.8% of the female admissions during 2002.10
Female Admissions to Treatment, 2002
Additional TEDS data indicate that more than half of the treatment admissions for sedatives in 2002 involved women.11
Admissions to Treatment, by Sex, 2002
A SAMHSA report on females admitted to treatment with a dual diagnosis of a substance abuse problem and a psychiatric disorder found that almost half (46 percent) had alcohol as a primary substance of abuse. The report also found that dually diagnosed female admissions were more likely to have had prior treatments than non-dually diagnosed female admissions (72 percent vs. 60 percent).12
Back to Top
Arrests & Sentencing
During 2003, there were a total of 1,678,192 state and local arrests for drug abuse violations in the United Sates. Approximately 18.3% of the 1,172,222 drug abuse violations with gender information available involved females.13
In FY 2001, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested and booked 17,249 female suspects for Federal offenses, representing 14.3% of the total arrests made by the U.S. Marshals Service. Of the U.S. Marshals Service arrestees booked on drug offense charges, 15.3% were female. Also in FY 2001, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested 5,452 females, representing 16.6% of the DEA arrests. Approximately 28% (1,528) of the female DEA arrests in FY 2001 involved methamphetamine.14
Females Arrested by the DEA, by Type of Drug, FY 2001
From October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2001, there were 8,898 female offenders convicted of a Federal offense. Approximately 82% of the female offenders convicted of felony drug offenses in FY 2001 were sentenced to incarceration. On September 30, 2001, there were 9,604 female offenders in Federal prison. Females accounted for 8.2% of the Federal prisoners serving time for drug offenses.15
In 2001, there were 76,200 sentenced female prisoners under State jurisdiction. Approximately 23,000 of these females were incarcerated for drug offenses. From 1995 to 2001, drug offenses accounted for 12.8% of the total prison growth among female inmates.16
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.17
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.18
Back to Top
Other Links
Women and Gender Research
NIDA's Women and Gender Research Coordinator serves to promote, conduct, and disseminate research on women's health and gender differences.
Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)
ORWH serves as the focal point for women's health research at the National Institutes of Health.
The National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC)
NWHIC provides a gateway to the vast array of Federal and other women's health information resources.
Girl Power
This site seeks to reinforce and sustain positive values among girls ages 9-14 by targeting health messages to the unique needs, interests, and challenges of girls.
Publications on Women and Drugs
A listing of publications related to women and drugs from various sources.
Back to Top
Sources
1National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, The Formative Years: Pathways to Substance Abuse Among Girls and Young Women Ages 8–22 (PDF), February 2003.
2Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings, September 2004
3Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) Highlights—2002 (PDF), May 2004
4Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables (PDF), September 2004
5 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings, September 2004
6Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2003, May 2004
7National Institute of Justice, Drug and Alcohol Use and Related Matters Among Arrestees, 2003 (PDF), 2004.
8Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Deaths: Final Data for 2001 (PDF), September 2003
9Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Emergency Department Trends from the Drug Abuse Warning Network, Final Estimates 1995–2002, July 2003
10Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) Highlights—2002 (PDF), May 2004
11 Ibid.
12Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Dually Diagnosed Female Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions: 1999, October 2002.
13 Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States, 2003, October 2004
14 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 2001, November 2003
15 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 2001, November 2003
16Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2002, July 2003
17Bureau of Justice Statistics, Women Offenders, December 1999.
18Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Female Gangs: A Focus on Research, March 2001.
Back to Top
Last Updated: October 26, 2004
|
