Primary drug abuse among women: a national study

This study focuses on women's primary patterns of abuse for selected drugs (heroin, marijuana, barbiturates, amphetamines, sedatives, and tranquilizers) at treatment admission in relation to age at first use, marital status, education status, and race. The sample consisted of 51 390 women admitted to treatment during a recent 12 month period. The results indicated that heroin was the most abuse drug in relation to all the variables examined. Those clients who never married and those unemployed at the time of admission reported the greatest abuse of each of the primary drugs investigated. More than half of the sample had their first drug experience before age 18. This suggests the need to educate young women about drugs and to make professionals in schools and communities more aware of the nature of this problem in order that prevention and treatment programs can be developed to meet women's specific needs.