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Glamour Magazine takes a look at women’s drug use in America

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Glamour-Magazine_Womens-Drug-UseAccording to an exclusive survey by Glamour magazine, one in three women take drugs recreationally. What’s more, is that they believe they can do it safely. Out of the 1,024 women asked, 32% say they’ve used street drugs like pot, ecstasy and cocaine or prescription drugs like Adderall and OxyContin recreationally. Twenty five percent of all the women said that using drugs is okay so long as they aren’t hurting anyone or developing an addiction.

The article tells a story of a 29­year­old woman (they call Barbara) who was at the Coachella music festival. She remembered taking ecstasy twice (one hour apart), snorting MDMA and then later, a bump of coke. When she and her friend got back to the hotel, she made herself throw up and then she remembers nothing. Turns out, Barbara’s friend found her foaming out the mouth and having a seizure. Barbara was rushed to the hospital and woke up three days later out of a coma.

For some people, the notion of almost dying would be enough to put an end to their drug use, recreational or otherwise. But Barbara sees it differently. She still smokes marijuana and has done ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine since her near­death experience. “I’m super tame compared to most people my age ­ I don’t even drink,” she started. “And now I’m more responsible; I know where the drugs come from, and I take a very small amount.”

The phrase “responsible drug use” seems like an oxymoron. To the young women surveyed, this means googling safety information about the drugs, have rules about how much they take of them and to purchase from trusted friends. These are among that elements that constitute “responsible drug use.”

Not necessarily craving the high

Over 50% of the women surveyed said they use drugs as a way to relax, connect with friends and experience something new ­ not just to get high for the sake of getting high. A 25­year­old entrepreneur in California admits to using mushrooms and acid, “but 90 percent of the time I take drugs to foster great conversations and relationships. When I’m tripping, I can be open and vulnerable. We discuss the future and our pasts; you get away from the craziness of work and Instagram and Facebook.

Dr. Kimberly Dennis, M.D., brings up a very good point. She believes that there’s been an erosion of social skills because of all the ways we communicate that don’t include face­to­face.

It sure is true. Between Facebook and other social media outlets, text messages and phone calls, how are we finding a deeper connection with people beyond the screens? People who use drugs to connect are connecting over drugs not with the person.

Here are the facts

  • Prescription drugs are not ‘safer’ than any other drugs. Chemically speaking, Adderall and cocaine are in the same family.
  • Between 2010 and 2013, emergency room visits that directly related to prescription drugs tripled among those aged 18 to 34.
  • In 2010, four times more women died from prescription painkillers than from cocaine and heroin overdoses combined.
  • There’s no quality control when it comes to drugs, so getting something from your friends (or a trusted source) does not make it safe.
  • Not all drugs and people are created equal. What your friend might be able to handle, your body might not.
  • 17% of survey participants who use drugs compared it to having a few drinks. Likewise, nearly a third believe it’s safer to take prescription medicine like Xanax recreationally than street drugs like cocaine.
  • 63% of users say they’ve taken drugs while drinking. Of those users:

○     16% say they’ve blacked out

○     4% say they’ve been raped or sexually assaulted

○     4% say they have overdosed

Talk to someone. Get help.

The moral of this post: there is absolutely no way to use drugs responsibly. Even if you don’t think you have a problem or an addiction, it might be a good idea to talk to someone to learn more. The Addiction Recovery Center is available for you 24/7. Call them today: 1­800­861­1768.




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