Recent public concern over illicit methadone use has generated considerable interest among both treatment authorities and researchers. Unfortunately, many professional studies on the topic have done little to clear up certain misconceptions surrounding methadone use. In building upon earlier empirical work, the authors sought to explore the role of methadone within the context of addict career experiences as a whole. Interviews revealed considerable differentiation in types of experiences and purposes for use with respect to a variety of demographic and drug career attributes. The findings suggest the need for some rethinking about prevailing conceptions of‘the problem’of illicit methadone use.