L'influence du genre? Les usages féminins de cannabis au sein du public des «consultations jeunes consommateurs»

Abstract

During the first two years of activity, the counselling and medical cannabis clinics implemented in France have received 45,000 cannabis users, nearly 20% of whom were women. The ratio of males to females among clients attending drug treatment services for cannabis problems is lower than that for drug treatment in general. This paper focuses on the features of these female clients, assessing the structural differences with the male users admitted in the setting. Men and women report different reasons for attending the cannabis clinics; they also show different expectations at entry. As a result, their socio-demographic characteristics, profiles of use and self-reported reasons for using cannabis diverge. The female clients are older and include higher proportions of self-referred outpatients, demanding treatment for cannabis and seeking help for reducing their levels of use. The female outpatients report high levels of cannabis use, frequently associated both with intensive patterns of use and polydrug using behaviours including illicit and antidepressant medication. Women mostly report unsupervised cannabis use aimed at coping with stress, pain-related problems and other disorders. Conversely, men are mostly referred by judicial authorities. A majority of them is aged 18 to 25 years, has good social integration and reports using for recreational purposes among friends.