Both women and men use drugs, this fact is clear, however the way in which society and the criminal justice system deal with drug users is often vastly different depending on their gender. Women drug users are the victims of not only their habits but also the preconceptions and attitudes of the people they come into contact with during their period of addiction. This essay will focus on the differences between attitudes towards male drug users and female users displayed within both the Criminal Justice System and the health service.
            
             Initially it is important to understand what preconceptions there are about women in society. Society expects a certain amount of responsibility and to a degree sensibility from women because they are viewed as either mothers or potential mothers. A woman who develops a drug habit is often seen by society as a failure because she is seen as unable or incapable of bringing up a child. Men experience less of these problems. True, a father with a drug problem may be considered as irresponsible or 'a bad influence', but will never receive the same amount of scorn or derision within society that his female counterpart will experience. This is particularly interesting when it is considered that most female drug users are introduced to drugs through men (this issue is expanded on later in the essay). Women have a very specific social norm to fit into, if they do not fit this norm they are considered deviant and subject to "personal and social condemnation and social isolation. Failure to perform mothering responsibilities is tantamount to failure as a woman" (Oppenheimer 1994, Cited in Bean 2002).
            
             The issue of pregnancy and motherhood is very important when considering the problem of women and drugs. Women whop use drugs are almost invariably of child bearing age; this means they are faced with a number of problems which men do not face. Pregnancy for a drug user is a very p...