The author first notes that the perception of a drug- crime connection is not new; only the drugs of interest seem to change. The exception to this is an almost constant interest for several decades in heroin and its link to criminal behavior. The author does not dismiss out of hand such a potential connection. Her review of the literature makes clear that the public's picture of the heroin-crime connection is not clear. After examining the role of class in heroin use and taking into account the many sampling problems in studies of such use, she concludes that a subset of poor, urban users commits considerable crime. Yet, users from other class backgrounds do not show the same criminal patterns. There is a paucity of evidence for linking PCP and amphetamines to significant portions of today's crime. The relationship of alcohol use to crime is only now receiving the attention it deserves. An examination of cocaine use and crime provides little evidence of a link of any greater significance than that between heroin and crime.