Female Substance Abuse: Women, Heroin, and Gender-Based Addiction

Heroin is a highly addictive substance characterized by a rush of biophysiological symptoms, including a feeling of euphoria, heaviness in the extremities, and dry mouth. When it comes to heroin and gender, either gender can become addicted in a brief period of time: "Addiction to heroin is characterized by the compulsion to use heroin despite an onset of negative consequences and despite the user's best attempts at stopping via willpower alone." For women, one of the more common and detrimental traits of heroin abuse is acquired tolerance, meaning that greater doses must be taken to replicate the original effects of the drug. When women are under the influence, they may engage in unsafe sexual activity, which can lead to sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies, and a range of emotional issues. Furthermore, women who inject heroin intravenously face an additional risk of hepatitis and HIV/AIDS from shared needles.

This paper examines the proactive and alarming trend of female heroin users and explores why heroin use among women is on the rise. Specifically, it seeks to determine the motivations for women using heroin as compared to men, drawing on a diverse body of academic literature spanning ethnographic research, clinical studies, historical analysis, and cultural criticism.

In the article "Women Heroin Users," Susan Beckerleg focuses on the choices and lifestyles of female heroin users in a coastal tourist town in Kenya, collecting data on their daily lives through ethnographic techniques. Of the sample participants, 18 women completed questionnaires about their reproductive health and wellness. The data were gathered and analyzed with a focus on the victimization of these women in terms of social stratification and lack of opportunity — absences that often make women susceptible to health issues, injuries, and early mortality. One conclusion Beckerleg was able to draw was that the challenges facing these Kenyan women heroin users were comparable to those faced by other female opiate users throughout the world (2004). "These Kenyan women live in a country where the majority of people are victims of 'structural violence,' but as drug users and sex workers they face particular disadvantage" (Beckerleg, 2004). What Beckerleg found, essentially, was that these societal disadvantages were part of what led these women to heroin use and were also what caused their further stigmatization. For women in these contexts, using heroin was a double-edged sword: they were drawn to it as a form of escapism, yet their usage pushed them further to the fringes of society.

Another paper examining the social cost of drug abuse is "Comparison of Female Opiate Addicts Admitted to Lexington Hospital in 1961 and 1967" by Cuskey and colleagues, which similarly argues that the social costs of drug addiction — particularly for women — are exceedingly high. A particularly revealing finding is that four out of every ten women were readmitted for treatment, with many staying in the clinic for 14 to 15 days, being released, ultimately relapsing, and starting the cycle over again — spending the bulk of their lives in and out of treatment facilities (Cuskey et al., 1971). What the findings of this article highlight most strongly is just how difficult it is to find effective treatment for female opiate users. The study also suggests that when more adequate forms of support are available for Black women and their children, they generally fare much better and show lower rates of substance abuse and its associated harms.

Social connections and social support are no small factor in heroin use and initiation. The study "Heroin Use Among Female Adolescents: The Role of Partner Influence in Path of Initiation and Route of Administration" by Eaves examines how female heroin users in Baltimore begin using the drug, finding that the gateway is most commonly a male companion. "Participants were more than twice as likely to be introduced to heroin by a male friend or boyfriend (IHM) than introduced to heroin by other means (IHO). The majority of IHM females were introduced by a male friend rather than a romantic partner" (Eaves, 2004). No connection was discovered between the way in which users were introduced to heroin and the route of administration they subsequently adopted (e.g., smoking versus injecting). Notably, almost all participants (94%) reported using heroin via inhalation, while 75% reported having injected heroin at some point (Eaves, 2004).

While some experts had assumed that introduction was more likely to occur through a boyfriend, the researchers found an essentially equal likelihood of initiation through either a boyfriend or a male friend (Eaves, 2004). The finding that the majority of users eventually transitioned from snorting to injecting is discussed in connection with the potency of the drug and its impact on the human body's reward system, which makes a stronger high increasingly desirable and increases willingness to take the risks associated with injection (Eaves, 2004). This carries strong implications for treatment and recovery — a theme echoed throughout the literature. Effectively treating heroin addiction, these studies confirm, is far more challenging than treating addiction to other substances.