Gender differences in alcohol and other drug use

Scrutinizing alcohol use alone was at one point justified for political, ideological and rational reasons. The rational reasons were based on patterns of use. Thus, one could easily identify the pure alcohol users. The other drug users in conjunction with alcohol were rare and in a minority. This can no longer be said. What seems to remain constant over time is the smaller proportion of female problem drinkers. What has changed is the addition of other drugs, especially legal drugs by women to their alcohol consumption. Such multiple drug use has apparently resulted in a number of overdoses; alcohol-in-combination with other drugs ranking among the top drug used. Since such a higher proportion of these overdoses are found to be accidental it is obvious to some that a public education program and warning labels about the combined usage are very much needed. It is now clear that alcohol has a significantly different effect on women than men and they run a higher risk of alcohol and other drug overdoses at a lower level of consumption. The physiological and possibly psychological basis for this is only beginning to be explored and is a prime area for research. When such knowledge is firmly at hand it may also help to explain the fewer women with drinking problems.