Queer high: Substance abuse in the LGBTQ community

The rates of alcohol and other substance use and abuse are twice as high in the LGBTQ population as in the heterosexual and cisgender population, and the rates of incarceration, recidivism, and mental health issues are similarly inflated.

Why is this? What social and political factors lead to these high rates? What role does the queer community play in encouraging these trends, and how can we intervene to reduce them?

OutSources guest Ann Noonan, who has worked in behavioral health, focusing on substance use disorders and treatment, for over 30 years, discusses these questions—and others—with hosts Glenda Russell and Janis Bohan.