The relationships between projected use, self‐reported behavior and attitudes to performance‐enhancing (PED) and recreational (RD) drugs were investigated among 82 competitive Hungarian athletes, with 14.6% admitting using PED and 31.7% using RD. Both the observed doping estimations (even those made by non‐users) and self‐admitted use were considerably higher than the average rate of positive doping tests (2% of all tests). The notable overestimation by PED users (34.6% vs 16.9%) was in keeping with the false consensus effect. A prediction model with attitude and projection to the likelihood of PED use suggested at least a 70% chance of self‐involvement of athletes, with responses at or above the median scores (Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale≥60 and estimation≥50%) on the two independent measures. Users overestimated the prevalence of doping in their sport (P=0.007) but not RD use, with the converse holding for RD users' views of doping (P=0.029). PED users also showed a significantly more lenient attitude toward doping (P<0.001). This domain‐specific characteristic adds new information to the ongoing research effort in understanding drug‐doping co‐morbidity. The reasons for elevated in‐group projection are discussed, along with the potential application of this phenomenon in doping epidemiology studies.