Hey Gayes, did you know that according to research studies, bisexual women are seven times more likely to consume marijuana on a daily basis than their heterosexual counterparts? The study found that 40% of bisexual women had used marijuana in the last year. Just 10% of heterosexual women and 26% of lesbian women had done the same.
One conclusion that researchers found, is that the high rates of pot consumption among queer women correlates with Marijuana Use Disorder(MUD). They theorize that this is due to high levels of stigma bisexual women face. Although dubious, these findings aren't too surprising because research shows that bi women face higher rates of depression and substance abuse than other women.
Morgan Philbin, one of the study's authors states, "Our results support existing literature by demonstrating that bisexual women have higher marijuana use disorder compared to heterosexual women.”
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Marijuana Use Disorder, involves regular use that impairs work, social life, or safety. The more of the 12 benchmarks users meet, the higher the severity of MUD.
The assistant professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia’s Mailman School, states,
"While research has explored how LGB discrimination policies may impact substance use, less work has explored how substance use policies may impact LGB men and women differently than heterosexuals.”
Though some LGB people use marijuana as a coping mechanism become dependent, most users simply don’t meet the criteria for MUD. There are studies that show higher rates of substance abuse in bisexual women, but it’s unclear if this study fits into that pattern or if researchers are jumping to conclusions based on their data.
Gayes, do you think substance "abuse" has anything to do with sexuality? View the case study here.
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