Social Determinants of Crack Use among Drug Using Women in Mexico City

Mexico has seen the rise of crack use in Mexico City partially facilitated by the diffusion of crack use practices from the United States. While the literature is beginning to explore the patterns and practices of crack use among men in Mexico City, little is known about the crack use of Mexican women.  This presentation utilizes gender role theory to examine drug using women's distinct pathway to crack use initiation.

In-depth semi-structured ethnographic interviews and observations were conducted with 150 male and female adult current crack users from neighborhoods (colonias) in three delegaciónes (boroughs) in México DF : Iztapalapa, Coyoacán and Cuauhtémoc.For the purpose of this study, only the data on female crack users was analyzed (n=42).

Women often initiated crack use in the presence of romantic partners and learned through the process of observation how to prepare, smoke and use specific paraphernalia. Their access and consumption of crack was facilitated by their male partners who would often decide how much crack they were willing to share or buy for the women. Many participants reported experiences of past trauma or depression that led to the escalation of their drug use. For those that were daily users, exchanging sex was described as a viable way to have access to crack but also placed them at high risk for violence and STDs.

Our findings regarding crack using women in Mexico City have implications for the development of gender based interventions and community approaches that take women’s unique social context into account.