DRUG-USE IN NEPAL - THE VIEW FROM THE STREET

This study uses qualitative research techniques to examine heroin use in Nepal. It explores the life histories of 16 heroin users in Kathman du, the country's capital, emphasizing those who are street children o r who are; otherwise displaced. The cases document that the initiation of use in Nepal is a complex process which includes: certain personal ity traits; an early history of culturally acceptable use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, or hashish; peer influence; and the specific socia l setting of users. Outside (i.e., foreign) influences are included in the mix, but never as a single determinant of drug use. Factors speci fic to the Nepali scene include the traditional association of forms o f marijuana with certain religious contexts and the availability of he roin. An additional factor is the poverty of the urban setting. The ap proach in Nepal to dealing with drugs primarily involves a realization of the role played by the interaction between personality and social setting in the fullest meaning of that term. [Translations are provide d in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]