This paper is a descriptive report of some of the characteristics of 539 young people attending a Drug Treatment Centre in Dublin between 1971 and 1974. It is emphasised that the group reported on are not necessarily representative of those who experiment with, or abuse, drugs in the community. There are no exact figures for the community, nor is there a register of drug-abusers, but a system of voluntary notification does exist. The paper concludes that there has been an increase and change in trends in drug taking since the Walsh article in 1966. Most of those attending the treatment centre are 21 years old or younger, and three quarters of them are male. Most of those attending use cannabis or LSD, and between a quarter and a third have used amphetamines, opiates or barbiturates. Those attending the centre are from all socio-economic levels, but the lower socio-economic levels are more heavily represented.