Abstract: The 1999 Stanton Peele Addiction Lecture (at Deakin University in Melbourne) was delivered by John Fitzgerald, of the University of Melbourne. John examines perspectives on drug use from the standpoint of narratives, or cognitive frameworks in terms of which we — particularly Westerners — interpret our worlds. Without changing these narratives, efforts to change policies for drug regulation face almost impossible odds, and may be doomed. Fitzgerald presents a consumer narrative of heroin use, and the consequences of this narrative for public health, law enforcement, users themselves, et al. Fitzgerald’s work represents a brilliant conceptual shift for approaching drug use and addiction.