Physical violence, a factor often associated with drug addiction, must be reduced or eliminated in order for drug dependent individuals to reenter society. To examine the extent to which individual violence associated with drug addiction was controllable by the Odyssey House drug addiction rehabilitation program, the violence potential of 47 residents was investigated through direct observation of the subjects' behaviors for a 6-month period. Results revealed that overt violence was well controlled within the facility, due in part to: (1) strong and unambiguous norms and sanctions; (2) opportunities to acquire self-esteem; (3) non-violent role models; (4) a procedure that enabled wrongs to be righted and conflicts to be resolved; and (5) a social learning process to extinguish violent behavior. The findings suggest that the Odyssey House program has been remarkably successful. (RC)