[Jackie]

What is the rate of substance abuse/dependence in the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community? Also, is it broken down by ethnicity in that group?

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Name : Jackie, Gender : F, City : Milwaukee, State : WI, Country : United States, 

[Doug25618]

It is estimated that between 20 and 30 percent of the gay population has an addiction problem related to substance abuse. Here is a web site with more information, although I’ve yet to discover any breakdown by ethnicity: http://www.nyu.edu/odae/lgbtfact.html

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Name : Doug25618, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 38, City : Phoenix, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : Adminstrator, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ben S.]

I would guess the rate of substance use in the gay community is a bit higher than the norm. This may be due to persecution of gay people – obviously some are going to seek relief in substance use. Also, a community told that its sexual expression is illegal or frowned upon is probably not going to care too much about similar prohibitions on substances. Drug use is certainly implicitly encouraged in some commercial gay scenes. In some cases there is even a strong message that use of drugs is essential to effective participation in those scenes – eg. parties that go on all night and have particular music and lighting designed to be appreciated by someone who’s used a particular substance. I would say too, that because of the high rate of substance use, there is likely to be a higher rate of abuse. Gay newspapers depend on advertising revenue from the commercial scene, so it’s in their interest to portray that scene as vibrant, exciting and new. This image is often maintained to the extent of excluding stories about the human cost of participation in that scene. I do not know any statistics giving an ethnic breakdown of substance abuse figures. I would imagine the type of substance abuse depends at least partly on whether members of the ethnic group participate in the commercial gay scene.

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Name : Ben S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 35, City : Melbourne, State : NA, Country : Australia, Occupation : corrections officer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Allison]

I’ve heard that it’s higher than in other groups, but I don’t know if it’s true. I think people are genetically predisposed to having addictive personalities, just like they’re genetically predisposed to being gay. I would imagine, then, that the ethnic breakdown would be the same for anyone who abuses substances. Also, some people think that because the only ‘acceptable’ place for us to meet and socialize is in bars, that contributes to the abuse rate. But I think that’s a load of hooey. All people who hang out in bars might drink more than those who don’t. But I don’t think gay bar-goers drink any more than straight bar-goers. I mean, people who ride in cars are also more likely to get killed in a car wreck.

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Name : Allison, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 36, City : Mission Viejo, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Analyst, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

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