Preliminary data are presented from a two-year qualitative study on the development of problematic drug use, which has been found to be spatially concentrated in the most marginalized areas of Dublin city. The study will assess the relationship between problem drug use, unemployment and socio-economic deprivation in these areas. Initially defined trends and patterns in the drug-using careers of Dublin's young adult population are described here, and the data is placed in the context of social and economic trends and policy responses to drugs. Uneven geographical development of visible drug problems mirrors the uneven geographical development of socio-economic disadvantage.