There has been an observable rise in the prevalence of use of psychoactive substances in Russia. Of particular concern is use by children, adolescents, and young people, because it poses a serious threat to their health and life and to public safety. Deviant behavior consists of deviations from the norms that are accepted in a given society, deviations that are not approved of in society, condemned by public opinion from the standpoint of morality or the law. Even though this type of behavior is quite prevalent, it is not always criminal. This article presents a monitoring survey of the deviant behavior of school and college students and the narcotics situation in the educational institutions of Arkhangelsk. This survey is based on the methodological principles that have been laid down by Emile Durkheim, Howard Becker, Talcott Parsons, J. Young, and others who have researched types of deviant behavior and various groups of deviants (narcotics abusers, alcoholics, suicides, robbers, [outlaw] bikers, hippies, and so on). All these researchers have emphasized the social nature of deviation. The sample set consisted of 2,319 respondents: students in the seventh through eleventh grades of general education schools, students in the first through third years of study of professional schools and technicums, and students in the first through fifth years of study of higher educational institutions; their ages ranged from fourteen to twenty-four. The survey used specially designed questionnaires for the different age groups: school students, vocational and professional school students, and college students. The survey demonstrated that there is a high level of involvement in psychoactive substances among adolescents and young people, and that the level of involvement was substantially higher among females than among males. (Contains 2 figures, 4 tables and 1 note.)