About three-fourths of 1981 drug arrestees were under age 25, one-fifth were female, and one-third were suspected of trafficking. Drug offenders comprise about 15 percent of all correctional inmates. The percentage is higher in juvenile institutions and amounts to 50 percent in female juvenile institutions. Drug use is initially learned from others and eventually implicates every user in the further spread of abuse and addiction. Both German and U.S. studies of drug dependence and the evolution of the 'fixer' career have described the same cycle initiator and novitiate relationships. In this context, drug abuse cannot be considered a victimless crime. Furthermore, drug abuse patterns do not enable a clear differentiation between consumption and trafficking. The association between criminal involvement and drug dependence is influenced by factors such as individual personality, prior delinquency, age and social context, the environmental drug scene, and the social control scene. Heroin fixer career patterns are distinctly different from both morphine and alcohol addiction. Tabular data and three references are given.