PAPER NOUN (DRUGS)

In the slang of drug users, a packet containing a dose of a drug; in recent use, especially a packet of ice. Etymology: A piece of paper folded up as a container or wrapper for something (such as a medicinal powder) has been called a paper for many centuries (the earliest examples in English go back to the sixteenth century); it is a logical step--admittedly after a long interval--to this more specialized use, even though in practice the drugs may be in small bags rather than folded pieces of paper. History and Usage: A folded piece of paper containing some illicit drug has been known as a paper since illegal drug-taking first became a problem in the thirties; by the sixties the word was being used for any packet or dose of drugs, whether in a folded paper or not; a heroin pusher was known as a paper boy. When the drug ice first came on the market in 1989, a one-tenth gram dose immediately became known as a paper even though there is no evidence that it was ever distributed in folded paper. In Hawaii, one-tenth gram or 'paper' of ice costs $50 and usually produces an eight- to 30-hour high. Boston Globe 8 Dec. 1989, p. 3