Girls More Vulnerable to Addiction

"Girls get hooked faster, they get hooked using lesser amounts of drugs and they suffer faster and more severely", said Joseph A. Califano, Jr. chairman of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. He was former US Secretary of Health, Education and welfare.

Most substance-abuse programs have been developed "without regard for gender, but often with males in mind", Mr. Califano said. "We now know that girls are different than boys—lets recognize it and lets help them."

Columba Bush, wife of Florida Governor, Jeb Bush attended a Capital Hill event to release CASA's three year study on substance abuse of girls 8 to 22.

"My heart goes out to all those saddened parents across America whose daughters have sunk into substance abuse and addiction",says Florida First Lady Columba Bush, a CASA board member who, along with Califano, released the report. "By showing the many and varied paths that girls may go down to substance abuse and how these paths frequently differ from those of boys, CASA's report empowers families, schools, communities and clergy to take steps needed to make a difference." The bushes adult daughter, Noelle, has had a public struggle with drug addiction and is in treatment.

Prevention programs should target girls at times of highest risk and be sensitive to the reasons why girls use drugs, how they get them and conditions such as depression that increase their risk.

Health professionals should screen young female patients for substance use, depression, sexual and physical abuse, poor school performance, eating disorders, and stress and provide appropriate referrals.

Government should invest resources in research, prevention and treatment that focus on the special needs of girls and women.

"If we all understand this special characteristic that lead girls to use substances, if we all realize how much more vulnerable girls are to becoming addicted and to the devastating consequences of addiction, we can save millions of girls and young women from the agony of addiction", Mrs. Bush said.

Excerpts taken from:
The National Center of Addiction and substance abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

Contact:
Ellen Ross, Director of Communications eross@casacolumbia.org