Bu yazının amacı, madde kullanım örüntüsü içindeki umarsız beklentileri tartışmak ve bazı noktalara dikkati çekmektir. "İstanbul'da Madde İstismarı: Hızlı Değerlendirme Çalışması 1996" isimli bir proje yapılmıştır. Ağırlıklı olarak niteliksel araştırma yöntemlerinin kullanıldığı bu projenin amacı, İstanbul 'da madde kullanımının örüntüsünü ortaya çıkarmaktır. Türkiye ’de madde kullanımı ve Godot Beklentisi ilişkileri tartışılırken, zaman zaman bu projenin niteliksel çalışma evresinde, projenin birinci araştırmacısı olan yazar tarafından İstanbul’da yapılan bazı çalışmalardan, özellikle vaka çalışmalarından alıntılar yapılmaktadır. Kullanıcıları madde kullanmaya iten, dünyanın madde ile daha güzel ve anlamlı olacağı beklentisi; kullanmaya başlamadan önce "benim çocuğum yapmaz", "ben yapmam", sonra "nasıl olsa tedavisi var" beklentileri ve temiz toplumun, birlikte yaşadığı çevrede, toplum içinde değişik konumlarda bulunan ve çeşitli sorumluluk ve yetkileri de üstlenen bütün insanların erdemli olacağı beklentisi tartışılmakta ve bazı öneriler geliştirilmektedir.

The aim of this paper is to discuss hopeless expectations in relation to drug abuse and to underline some important issues related to its expansion in Istanbul, Turkey. The present research, namely, "Drug abuse in Istanbul: A Rapid Assessment Study 1996, has been recently carried out in this city. Its objective is to find out drug use patterns such as misuser 's psychological, social, economic and cultural characteristics, names of the substances and how they are used, how and where they find the substances; risky behaviour in terms of bloodborne diseases; their knowledge on the effects of the substances on health and their knowledge on and attitudes to medical services. In addition to the user's ideas, it is aimed to learn from user's relatives, friends and nonusers about their opinions and concerns related to the people who are under risk, their characteristics; the factors which facilitate usage of the substances and prevention. The project has been conducted by Hacettepe Public Health Foundation (HHV) in collaboration with Bakirkoy State Hospital, Alcohol and Substance Addiction Research and Treatment Centre (AMATEM) with the support of United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP). This project which mainly involves qualitative studies is to be completed in four independent but complementary phases: 1. Collating of secondary sources, 2. Development of context appropriate methodology, 3. Qualitative research, and 4. Quantitative research. The present author, who is the pricipal investigator of the project, discusses in the present context drug misuse patterns in Istanbul in terms of Godot Expectation, giving some quotes from case studies which were carried out by herself during the third phase of the project. Expectations of the misusers that ‘Drug makes the world more meaningful' ; before usage, the expectations of ‘My child does not use it.' or 'I do not use it.', after usage ‘Anyhow, it will be treated. ’; and the "clean society ”s expectation that ‘Everybody with various responsibilities in the society has virtue' have been discussed in terms of Godot Expectation. Waiting for Godot, as depicted in Beckett’s play, is an existential situation of humanity. Human beings, while Waiting for Godot, enter into different relationships with each other and with nature, including substances. Substance use and abuse unfortunatelly gives the appearance of solving existential anxiety and gives a transient happiness which later turn into a great suffering and another secondary existential anxiety. The present paper presents some examples of drug abusers, 'their relatives', 'nonusers', 'professionals', and "clean society"s perceptions and expectations. It has been pointed out that the perceptions and expectations o f these different parties to drug use and abuse are very similar to perceptions and expectations of the characters in Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot.