Given their similarities, drug use and offending have been extensively studied. However, the relationship remains complicated. There also remains a knowledge gap on the relationship between recovery from drug use and desistance from offending. Furthermore, the underlying personal, social, or structural factors that might explain the connection between both careers remain unclear. It has been suggested that these factors are initially intertwined, but diverge over time. Despite the acknowledgement of gendered aspects, both the research on the drug use career and studies on the criminal career have been mostly focused on male populations. Therefore, this study focuses on the female experience. Using a criminal career framework, this project studies the (relationship between the) drug use career (onset, persistence, recovery) and criminal career (onset, persistence, desistance) in women. Through three life story interview waves, this project compares the factors underlying the careers, and studies the evolution of this intertwinement over time. The barriers these women encounter throughout their desistance and recovery trajectories will be analyzed, and potential solutions for these hindrances will be explored. This research will contribute to the understanding of the complex drug use career (including recovery) and criminal career (including desistance) among women.