WOMEN AND DRUG ADDICTION IN GEORGIA
Women also face unique issues when it comes to substance use. Scientists who study addiction and drug abuse discovered that women who use drugs can have issues related to hormones, fertility, pregnancy, breastfeeding, menopause, and the menstrual cycle. In addition, women themselves describe unique reasons for using drugs. Some women do it to control weight, fight exhaustion, cope with pain, and to try and self-treat mental health problems. 19.5 million, or 15.4 percent, of women ages 18 and above have used illicit drugs in the past year. Women abuse substances differently than men. Divorce, loss of child custody, or the death of a partner or child can trigger women’s substance use or other mental health disorders. And similarly, they also respond to substances differently. From 1999 to 2014, the number of women with opioid use disorder at labor and delivery quadrupled. They may take smaller amounts of certain drugs for less time before they become addicted. Women may have more drug cravings and may be more likely to relapse after treatment.
Hormones can make women more sensitive to the effects of some drugs. Women have also been found to be more prone to physical effects on their heart and blood vessels. Because of this, women are also more likely to die from overdose. Women who are victims of domestic violence have an increased risk of substance use. Substance use during pregnancy is another factor that makes the experience unique for women. Drug abuse while pregnant is very risky to the woman’s health and that of her children. It can have both short term and long term effects on both of them. Most drugs could potentially harm an unborn baby. Some substances also increase the risk of miscarriage while also causing migraines, seizures, or high blood pressure in the mother—all of which may affect her fetus. This is why pregnant women should always check with their health care provider before taking any medications. When a woman uses drugs regularly during pregnancy, the baby can go through withdrawal after birth. This condition is called neonatal abstinence syndrome or NAS. NAS can occur if a pregnant woman uses opioids, alcohol, caffeine, and some prescription sedatives. The severity of a baby’s withdrawal symptoms depend on the drug used and the mother’s drug habits. Symptoms of NAS in a newborn can develop immediately or up to 14 days after birth. Common symptoms of NAS include: diarrhea, fever, increased heart rate, irritability, rapid breathing, seizures, sleep problems, slow weight gain, vomiting, and trembling.
MOST ABUSED STREET DRUGS IN GEORGIA
Gender differences might make addiction a bit more unique between men and women, but the effects can be somewhat predictable based on the substance taken by the individual. Street drugs, for example, are taken only for their recreational purposes. They do not have any medical benefits—but people take them in order to get high. While the euphoric experience caused by these street drugs can make a person feel good, it is also expected to make them suffer from adverse effects later on, especially with continued use. Cocaine is one of the most commonly abused street drugs out there. The National Institutes on Health or NIH report that there were roughly 1.5 million cocaine users aged 12 or older in 2014. That is 0.6 percent of the population. Adults ages 18 to 25 are most likely to abuse cocaine. Men are more likely to use cocaine than women. In fact, there were over 3,000 male overdose deaths in 2014, while only 1,000 female overdose deaths were recorded. When short term cocaine use crosses the line into long term abuse, the risks increase and the dangers become more apparent.
Long term effects of cocaine abuse include extreme fatigue, headaches, nosebleeds, abdominal pain, significant weight loss, heart attack, stroke, seizures, respiratory arrest, widespread cardiovascular disease, and death. Heroin is another commonly abused street drug, made from the opiate called morphine. Street names for it include smack, horse, hell dust, and big H. Long term heroin abuse may lead to insomnia, damaged tissue, abscesses, infection of the heart lining and valves, lung complications, mental disorders, sexual dysfunction, and irregular menstrual cycles. The NSDUH reported that about 948,000 Americans were using heroin in 2016. The trend is mostly driven by young adults aged 18 to 25. The number of people using heroin for the first time is high, with 170,000 people starting heroin use in 2016. Out of all the street drugs, however, marijuana may be the most popular. Approximately 4.1 million American adults over the age of 12 battled a marijuana use disorder in 2017. Most of the people struggling with marijuana addiction that year were between ages 12 and 25.
