DURING THE STUDY PERIOD, INTERVIEWS WERE TAPE RECORDED WITH A SAMPLE OF ADDICTS ADMITTED EACH WEEK TO THE DETOXIFICATION AND SCREENING UNIT OF ONE OF THE FACILITIES OF THE NEW YORK STATE DRUG ABUSE CONTROL COMMISSION. THE INTERVIEWER FOCUSED ON HOW MUCH AND WHAT KINDS OF NARCOTIC USE, IF ANY, FOLLOWED VARIOUS SIZES OF INCOME-PRODUCING HUSTLING 'SCORES', AND THE CONTINGENCIES WHICH SHAPE THESE SEQUENCES. TWENTY-EIGHT DIFFERENT TYPES OF EMPIRICALLY DERIVED PATTERNS WERE OBTAINED FOR THE 22 ADDICTED SUBJECTS. AMONG THESE, THREE MAJOR PATTERNS (DETERMINED BY THE FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE) EMERGED: AVERAGE-SCORE-AVERAGE DRUG USE-AVERAGE ACTIVITY; HIGH SCORE-HIGH DRUG USE-LOW OR NO ACTIVITY; LOW SCORE-LOW TO AVERAGE DRUG USE-AVERAGE ACTIVITY. A NUMBER OF FACTORS INFLUENCING THE HUSTLING-DRUG USE RELATIONSHIPS WERE ALSO IDENTIFIED. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED.