Women… drugs… drug policy
“Drug-related deaths have risen for men and women over the last decade, but the sharpest rise has been for women.”
We know that women use drugs not just for pleasure but to cope with difficult life circumstances, such as domestic abuse. There are clear links between experiencing abuse and trauma and having problems with drugs and alcohol. The connection between these issues is explored by the authors on BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour. [For example,] then there is the conflicting images of motherhood and of drug use, particularly problem drug use where women fear – often rightly so – that their children will be taken into care if they disclose their habit to the authorities. Often women in treatment who have children will be subject to a higher level of scrutiny and more onerous treatment practices, such as daily pick up of their medication, such as methadone, simply because they have children. The data on drug-related deaths shows that 31% of female deaths was “intentional”, compared with 17% of male deaths, but there has been very little analysis or exploration into why this phenomenon is occurring.
Original Article (OPB):
Women also use drugs, not that you can tell from drug policy
Artwork Fair Use: OPB