The study is based on research done in the Rhein-Main area and in Berlin in 1978 and 1979. A secondary analysis of data indicates that the share of drug users having opiate experience appears to be between .2 and .6 percent. Combined findings on police data show that the present dependent population totals between 60,000 and 80,000 and that more than 20 percent of the dependent population known to the police are women. All sets of data corroborate an increase in absolute terms of the number of drug-dependent adolescents and young adults and a concomitant increase in the use of hard drugs. Indepth interviews with 77 hard drug users (57 males, 20 females) show that for most of the subjects, the use of soft drugs had preceded the use of hard drugs. Addicts resorted to crime to support their habits at one time or another, with theft having been committed by half of those interviewed. Even with increased investigative resources, the police cannot comprehensively control the use of the traffic in illicit drugs. The German armed forces are both quantitatively and qualitatively less affected, by the drug problem than the rest of the male population of the same age, and in particular, much less than the foreign armed forces stationed in the country. The study concludes that in the coming years, heroin will continue to be the dominant hard drug. It recommends that police emphasize investigating drug dealers/traffickers more and the users less. A system of gradated enforcement intensity is proposed in which the suppression of hard drugs rather than hashish would be emphasized. In addition, closer cooperation between the police and social services is imperative. Drug substitution programs are not considered a viable solution because the substitute drugs do not eliminate dependence but rather serve as an alternative in times of heroin unavailability. Tables, notes, a map, a glossary, subject index, and a bibliography of over 200 references are provided. (Author summary modified)