When discussing issues that are critically important in the movement for gay and transgender equality, many refer to marriage and workplace discrimination—far more often than health, including substance use. Yet a 2012 report issued by the Center for American Progress, titled “Why the Gay and Transgender Population Experiences Higher Rates of Substance Use”, indicates that between 20 and 30 percent of gay and transgender people abuse substances, compared to approximately 9 percent of the general population: a staggering, if not understandable, disparity. Read more here.