Butts, Jeffrey A. (2012). Increasing Drug Arrests after 1980 had Disproportionate Effect on Women. Research and Evaluation Data Bits [2012-09]. New York, NY: Research and Evaluation Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.

The number of drug-related arrests reported by U.S. law enforcement agencies increased sharply between 1980 and 1995, and for some groups the volume of arrests did not decline significantly between 1995 and 2010. The largest relative growth in drug arrests occurred among adult women, especially those charged with drug possession offenses rather than sales or manufacture. Drug arrests involving male offenders still outnumbered those involving females in 2010, but arrests of women increased more since 1980.