INDEX:
1. legal drugs used to treat illnesses, pain etc
2. an illegal drug
3. to take a drug
4. when someone’s mind has been affected by illegal drugs
5. to take too much of a drug
6. to stop taking drugs
7. buying and selling drugs
RELATED WORDS
someone who often takes illegal drugs and cannot stop : ↑ ADDICTED
see also
↑ MEDICAL TREATMENT
↑ UNCONSCIOUS
↑ SMOKING
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1. legal drugs used to treat illnesses, pain etc
▷ drug /drʌg/ [countable noun]
a chemical substance used for treating illnesses or to stop people feeling pain :
▪ Morphine is a very powerful drug.
▪ The drugs I take for hay fever make me feel very drowsy.
▪ One disadvantage of the drug is that it is very expensive.
drug company/maker
▪ The New Jersey drug maker will begin marketing its new anti-balding medication in April.
prescription drug
a drug that you can only get with the permission of a doctor
▪ The article says that Ware tried to commit suicide by combining prescription drugs and alcohol.
2. an illegal drug
▷ drug /drʌg/ [countable noun]
an illegal substance that people take for pleasure, or because they cannot stop taking it :
▪ Thompson was arrested for selling drugs in the fall of 1992.
▪ a new campaign to warn teens about the danger of drugs
illegal drugs
▪ The agency’s efforts to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into the United States has largely failed.
hard drug
a powerful illegal drug that can make you very ill or kill you
▪ Dewey said that legalizing marijuana would encourage people to experiment with hard drugs such as cocaine or heroin.
soft drug
an illegal drug that is less dangerous than a hard drug
▪ Seven out of ten teenagers said they had tried soft drugs.
drug abuse
the use of illegal drugs, especially in a way that is very bad for your health
▪ She has been treated for alcohol and drug abuse.
drug addiction
▪ The organization tries to deal with the widespread problems of drug addiction and alcoholism.
▷ narcotics /nɑːʳˈkɒtɪksǁ-ˈkɑː-/ [plural noun] especially American
illegal drugs - used especially in news reports and in legal contexts :
▪ Laws governing the sale of narcotics vary from state to state.
▪ Police are investigating a recent spate of narcotics offenses in Miami.
▷ illegal substance /ɪˌliːg ə l ˈsʌbstəns/ [countable noun usually plural]
an illegal drug of any type - used especially in legal and official contexts :
▪ Tucker was charged with the possession of an illegal substance.
▪ Drug tests taken 24 hours after the crash showed no trace of illegal substances in either of the drivers.
3. to take a drug
▷ take /teɪk/ [transitive verb]
to put a drug into your body - use this about legal or illegal drugs :
▪ I can’t take penicillin; I’m allergic to it.
▪ She took a couple of aspirins before going to bed.
take drugs
use illegal drugs
▪ Sinclair admitted that she had taken drugs several years before.
▪ He neither drinks nor takes drugs.
▷ be on /biː ˈɒn/ [transitive verb]
to take a drug regularly, especially because you cannot stop taking it :
be on heroin/cocaine/speed etc
▪ How long has she been on heroin?
be on drugs
regularly take illegal drugs
▪ Our 28-year-old son is on drugs.
▷ use /juːz/ [transitive verb]
to regularly take illegal drugs :
▪ She first started using drugs when she was thirteen.
▪ Morgan stopped using drugs and alcohol six years ago when he entered a long-term treatment program.
drug user /ˈdrʌg ˌjuːzəʳ/ [countable noun]
▪ Herring, 55, is a former drug user who started the foundation in San José in 1980.
▷ do drugs /duː ˈdrʌgz/ [verb phrase] informal
to take illegal drugs, especially regularly :
▪ I did a lot of drugs when I was at university.
▪ Davis said he quit doing drugs when he became a parent.
▷ inject /ɪnˈdʒekt/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to put a drug into someone’s body using a needle :
▪ Most heroin users prefer to inject the drug.
▪ A drug that is injected reaches the brain faster than if it is smoked or sniffed.
▪ Two years ago I was both smoking and injecting.
▷ come down /ˌkʌm ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to stop being affected by a powerful drug that you have taken :
▪ I think I’m starting to come down. Let’s smoke another joint.
4. when someone’s mind has been affected by illegal drugs
▷ high /haɪ/ [adjective not before noun]
feeling very excited, happy, and full of energy because of the effects of a drug :
▪ God, I got so high last night.
high on drugs/ecstasy/LSD etc
▪ Newton died at age 47 while high on crack cocaine.
as high as a kite
very high
▪ She was as high as a kite.
▷ stoned /stəʊnd/ [adjective not before noun] informal
feeling very relaxed or happy and not able to behave normally because of the effect of a drug :
▪ The guy playing lead guitar was completely stoned.
get stoned
▪ ‘What did you guys end up doing last night?’ ‘Not much. We got stoned and watched TV - that’s about it.’
▷ wired /waɪəʳd/ [adjective not before noun] informal
feeling very excited and nervous as a result of taking a drug :
▪ I was still way too wired to go to bed.
▷ be out of your head/be out of it /biː ˌaʊt əv jɔːʳ ˈhed, biː ˈaʊt əv ɪt/ [verb phrase] informal
to not know what you are doing or what is happening around you, because you have taken an illegal drug :
▪ Can Sally go back in your room and lie down? She’s really out of it.
▪ They had taken some mushrooms and were completely out of their heads by the time they got to the party.
5. to take too much of a drug
▷ take an overdose /ˌteɪk ən ˈəʊvəʳdəʊs/ [verb phrase]
to take a dangerously large amount of a drug, usually deliberately :
▪ Can someone call an ambulance? I think he’s taken an overdose.
take an overdose of
▪ The woman apparently tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose of a prescription drug.
overdose [countable noun]
▪ Marilyn Monroe was 36 when she died of an overdose of sleeping pills in August 1962.
▷ overdose on /ˈəʊvəʳdəʊs ɒn/ [verb phrase]
to take a dangerously large amount of a particular drug, usually by accident :
▪ He overdosed on heroin.
▷ OD /ˌəʊ ˈdiː/ [intransitive verb] spoken informal
to take a dangerously large amount of a drug, usually deliberately :
▪ ‘How did she die?’ ‘She OD’d.’
OD on
▪ Brody OD’d on a mixture of cocaine and heroin.
6. to stop taking drugs
▷ come off /kʌm ˈɒf/ [transitive phrasal verb] especially British
to gradually stop taking a drug that you have been taking for a long time - use this about legal or illegal drugs :
▪ It was ten years before she managed to come off morphine.
▷ be in rehab /biː ɪn ˈriːhæb/ [verb phrase]
if someone is in rehab, they are getting treatment to help them stop taking drugs or drinking too much alcohol :
▪ He’s been in rehab for over three months.
▪ Danny was recently arrested for cocaine, but he’s kept his job and he’s in rehab.
rehab [adjective only before noun]
▪ a rehab center
7. buying and selling drugs
▷ drug trafficking /ˈdrʌg ˌtræfɪkɪŋ/ [uncountable noun]
the illegal activity of taking drugs from one country to another and selling them :
▪ He’s wanted in the US on charges of drug trafficking.
▪ The government’s efforts to limit drug trafficking have mostly failed.
drug trafficker [countable noun]
someone who takes drugs illegally from one country to another and sells them: :
▪ a suspected drug trafficker
▷ drug dealer/dealer /ˈdrʌg ˌdiːləʳ, ˈdiːləʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who sells illegal drugs, especially to someone that they know :
▪ He was accused of purchasing cocaine from an Indianapolis drug dealer.
▪ Police arrested a dealer yesterday who was selling marijuana to 12-year-olds.
▷ pusher/drug pusher /ˈpʊʃəʳ, ˈdrʌg ˌpʊʃəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who sells illegal drugs, especially in order to encourage people to start taking drugs :
▪ A pusher approached us, asking if we wanted to buy any crack.
▪ Being a university city, Oxford is an obvious target for the pushers.