Use, Misuse, and Gender Differences

The use of drugs in Western societies has been associated with male gender roles and behaviors and is poorly regarded in female behavior. For men, drug use has most often been regarded as a risk behavior, a deviation, or an illness when serious consequences for health arise. On the other hand, for women, drug use has been viewed as a vice, a disease, a response to female problems or disorders, and, above all, as a transgression of women’s traditional roles.