This article introduces the paradigm of Intersectionality as an effective tool to explore the phenomenon of psychoactive substance use (SPA, Spanish acronym). To do so, this work starts with the outcomes from a mixed-method research that identified that the categories of gender and ethnicity influence the social representation of 298 young people in northern Cauca (Colombia) regarding the SPA. The differential approach of this paradigm is also reinforced as a theoretical-methodological instrument to optimize the diagnostic stage and the subsequent design of public policies intended to prevent or mitigate the substance use. Those public policies are currently in need of an intersectional and territorialized treatment, particularly when it is implemented in territories like northern Cauca, where the population is multicultural and has starred in and become the victim of phenomena like the drug-trafficking and the armed conflict