The LGBTQ community is disproportionately affected by substance abuse: It affects 20-30% of LGBTQs compared to 8.4% of the general population, according to a study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Some services, such as drugrehab.com, cater specifically to LGBTQ individuals to address this alarming situation and the unique obstacles they encounter on the path to recovery. Amy Keller is a registered nurse and a lesbian, so she is particularly sensitive to medical issues affecting LGBTQ people. A writer and researcher for drugrehab.com, she discussed the issue of drug abuse in the community with Off the Cuff.
What motivated you to work on this topic?
Drug addiction is one of the biggest crises facing our country right now. I have lesbian friends who became addicted to alcohol in high school because of the misery they were enduring trying to hide the fact that they were gay. I have transgender friends who’ve struggled with addiction and been driven to the brink of suicide because of the hatred and bullying they’ve endured—sometimes from their own family members.
Can you talk about the work drugrehab.com does?
Drugrehab.com is an entirely free website that provides information and resources to the public about drug abuse, addiction and recovery. You can read personal recovery stories, in-depth guides on everything from suicide to bullying to living with an alcoholic, information about all sorts of drugs, side effects, withdrawal and, most importantly, how treatment can help. Any question you’ve ever had about drugs and addiction—we probably have the answer.
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I think we’re filling an important informational void. You can certainly read about the drug epidemic every day in the media, but a lot of the coverage is incredibly dark. People also need hope. They need to hear about how they can get well and overcome addiction, not just that overdose and death is inevitable. People have to know there is a way out of the hell they’re living in. We try to provide that light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
Why is the LGBTQ community particularly vulnerable to addiction?
You’ve got gay kids and transgender kids who are rejected by their families and, in extreme cases, thrown out of their homes. Or maybe they’re being bullied at school, or aren’t comfortable coming out at all, so they keep their identity completely secret. Imagine the stress of having to live that way. All of those kinds of stressors take a toll on a person. It can lead to mental anguish, and people who are in pain look for ways to feel better—unfortunately, many turn to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. At drugrehab.com, we recognize that the LGBTQ community has some unique concerns and challenges when it comes to substance abuse. We try to cover these issues in a prominent way, with in-depth guides, podcasts and our news coverage.
What are the costs of treatment?
Treatment costs can vary dramatically—in-patient treatment is a lot more expensive. Detox can cost $250 to $800 a day, and residential treatment can range anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000, depending on the length of treatment. A 90-day outpatient program might range from $5,000 to $10,000. The key thing to do if you’re thinking about rehab is to check on your insurance coverage. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, insurance plans are required to cover treatment for mental health services, including rehab.
Can you tell me about one of your success stories?
About a year ago, I wrote a comprehensive article about GHB addiction, which is really rampant in the gay club scene. [GHB is Gamma Hydroxybutyrate. In the 1960s, it was used for general anesthetic purposes; in the ’80s, it became more widely used as a body building agent and nutritional supplement; in the ’90s, however, it grew more popular among young club goers as a drug of choice to abuse.] After that piece went live, I heard from a gay man who thanked me for writing the article and said it was the first piece he’d read about GHB addiction that he could relate to. He told me that there is so little information available about it that his therapist and doctor didn’t even know what GHB was. We talked about his desire to start a GHB Anonymous group to help others. We still keep in touch.
