A social exclusion approach is the most appropriate framework for examining the nature of the link between drug use and deprivation. This study focuses on the process of exclusion that forms the background to drug use rather than the individual user's behaviour. The research methodology employed a variety of data collection techniques to deal with the complexities of the phenomena involved. These included interviews, enthographic studies, and analyis of existing indicators, and a review of related social policy. Multiple data sources were used and this helped to locate individual experiences within social processes and structural forces. The social exclusion approach to the study of drug use allows the researcher to make the environmental context of drug use apparent.