This assessment explores a topic from the stimulus articles of ANTH106 - It is an option for either the first or second assessment. the production and reproduction of illegal substances is significantly influenced by socially complex relations and processes (Dwyer, 2011). This viewpoint contrasts the dominant supply-demand model, which posits production and consumption as an object of measurement, as opposed to a complex process (Dwyer, 2011). Dywer (2011), explores the process of exchange via ethnographic research, to highlight the significance of social hierarchy, relationships and cultural understanding in the drug marketplace. Consequently, this also challenges the social stigma of drug users and dealers as abject ‘drop outs’. Those involved in the drug marketplace often experience challenges, relationships and social dynamics similar to everyday people (Himmelstein, 1983) (Dwyer, 2011). This chapter provides evidence for these issues through research conducted in an urban suburb in Melbourne, heavily populated by Vietnamese people associated with heroin use and selling. It uses an example of an exchange, in this case cigarettes, between a researcher and Vietnamese participants involved with the street-based heroin market, to compare the social and cultural similarities. Although on a smaller scale, the researchers journey of exchange with the participants parallel’s the heroin exchange occurring within the street-based marketplace.