Final Magazine PDF

Women on Drugs
Dr. Cureton treats both Men and
Women at Daytop Samaritan
Village but she will be the first to
point out that women are more
susceptible to the devastating
effects of drug abuse than men.
According to the American Society
of Addiction Medicine (ASAM),
Women are more likely to have
chronic pain, be prescribed
prescription pain relievers, be
given higher doses, and use them
for longer time periods than men.
Women may become dependent
on prescription pain relievers more
quickly than men.
48,000 women died of prescription
pain reliever overdoses between
1999 and 2010 and the numbers
increased yearly.
Cureton and her dedicated team of professionals are working tirelessly daily to ensure that the high
mortality rate due to drug overdose in Staten Island is curved. According to Kevin Moran, a funeral
director at the John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals on Staten Island, wakes for young overdose
victims bring in crowds and the rate of these deaths are surprisingly rising at a scary pace.
According to the National Institute
on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Women
can respond to substances
differently. For example, they may
have more drug cravings and may
be more likely to relapse after
treatment. This could be affected
by a woman’s menstrual cycle.
Sex hormones can make women
more sensitive than men to the
effects of some drugs.
Women who use drugs may also
experience more physical effects
on their heart and blood vessels.
Brain changes in women who use
drugs can be different from those
in men.
Women may be more likely to go
to the emergency room or die from
overdose or other effects of certain
substances.
Women who are victims of
domestic violence are at increased
risk of substance use.
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