A cohort of 51 subjects was identified from Public Records of Court Appearances for narcotic offenses during a 36-month period (1955-57); they were located and interviewed when possible. Records from a minimum of two agencies (law enforcement, corrections, treatment, welfare) were used to establish current status of the individual with reference to the use of narcotics and/or other drugs. Demographic, ethnic, and socioeconomic composition of the sample, as well as criminal involvement and treatment episodes, are included. After 20 years, one individual is drug-free or abstinent. Twenty-three are considered still addicted to heroin, and 16 of these are in prison; 7 are addicted to methadone or alcohol; 13 are dead; and 6 could not be located. All but one are more than 40 years old. For these 51 addicts, the maturation hypothesis does not hold. 22 references