ICE NOUN (DRUGS)

In the slang of drug users, a crystalline form of the drug methylamphetamine or 'speed', smoked (illegally) for its stimulant effects. Etymology: The name arises from the drug's almost colourless, crystalline appearance during the manufacturing process, like crushed ice. As one Australian newspaper has pointed out, the once innocent question 'Would you like some ice?', asked at a party, has taken on an entirely new meaning. In its prepared form, ice may be white, yellow, or even brown. History and Usage: The drug first appeared with this name in Hawaii, and by 1989 had spread to the mainland US. Like the smokable cocaine derivative crack, it produces a sustained 'high', is extremely addictive, and has a considerable street value. It is smoked through a glass pipe called an incense burner, but unlike incense it is almost odourless, and so can be smoked in public with little risk of detection. Older names in the US for essentially the same drug include glass and crystal or crystal meth. Like those smoking crack, ice users initially suffer weight loss and insomnia because of the stimulation effects. Daily Telegraph 3 Oct. 1989, p. 11 The ice problem is so bad that crack cocaine pales by comparison. The Times 7 Nov. 1989, p. 8 'However shit your life is, ice, at first, makes things better...' is how one addict of the new American horror drug ice, describes its effects. Sky Magazine Apr. 1990, p. 91