Gen-X junkie: ethnographic research with young White heroin users in Washington, DC

Through ethnographic research with injection drugs users (IDUs), the author presents a discussion on the network dynamics of young White heroin users from the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. An analysis of who the users are, how their networks form, how they change over time, and how they dissolve are presented in comparison the the dynamics of an older Black IDU network from the same area. Significant differences between these two types of networks shed light on important issues surrounding drug use and HIV risk, and aid in directing future research efforts in this field of study.