ABSTRACT
For the young heroin users, dramatic events, which could have serious consequences, are something of a marker, a part of their identity. This would in time transform to a heroin-based subculture but in the beginning it consisted of less 'serious' events and symbols, experimenting with drugs and criminality. ‘Separation’ describes the process by which people separate themselves from those people and environments that exercise control over their thoughts and actions, and seek other persons and other environments where this captivity is not experienced. School is a socialization apparatus and can be seen as the long arm of modern society, and as such fulfilling a function: to contribute to social harmony and to see that the social ties that bind society together are maintained. The prospective heroin users’ relationship to school was relatively problem-free until they reached their sixth or seventh year of school.
