Drug addiction is characterized by occasional or permanent drug use and includes significant negative consequences for the addicted person (physical, psychological, economic, social), and also their environment. An additional problem arises when a person fails to maintain abstinence despite attempts. In the Republic of Croatia, there is still no significant decrease in the occurrence of addiction, and the problem of relapse remains prominent due to the frequency of this event, which returns the abstainer to addiction and the initial problem they are facing. In this study, a qualitative research method was used to gain insight into the views of addiction, relapse and addiction treatment by former substance addicts. In the Republic of Croatia, there are no recorded studies on the topic of relapse among drug addicts, and understanding the reasons for breaking abstinence can certainly help in creating better resocialization programs. A total of 13 drug addicts, 2 women and 11 men (average age of 39 years (M=38,9, SD=9,01) participated in this qualitative research through semi-structured interview. There are four main research topics: factors leading to relapse, motives for maintaining abstinence, and the family background of the participants and their experiences with addiction treatment in the Republic of Croatia, which will be discussed in detail