This work discusses the chemical dependence of anxiolytic drugs by women, analyzing the relation between women, drug, and public health service. The participants were seventeen women, all of them anxiolytic users, attending public health service at the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. A semi-structured interview was used as research instrument, associated with methodological analysis of user's speeches. We consider that health service, usually available and produced for this kind of patient, with generalized prescription and utilization of anxiolytics, is taking women to dependence on these drugs. We observed also that the relation between these elements reinforces woman's medicalization, and affects their health/disease process.
anxiolytic drugs; women; public health service