chase the dragon

chase the dragon

slang To smoke a controlled substance, often heroin. I can't chase the dragon anymore—I'm trying to get away from that stuff.
See also: chase, dragon
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

chase the dragon

take heroin (sometimes mixed with another smokable drug) by heating it in tinfoil and inhaling the fumes through a tube or roll of paper.
Chase the dragon is reputedly a translation from Chinese. The expression apparently refers to the undulating movements of the fumes up and down the tinfoil, resembling those of the tail of a dragon, a creature found in many Chinese myths.
See also: chase, dragon
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

chase the dragon

tv. to inhale opium fumes through a straw, or similarly with other drugs. (Drugs.) Harry thinks that chasing the dragon sounds like real fun.
See also: chase, dragon
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • dragon
  • chase (someone or something) around
  • chase around
  • go chase yourself
  • Go chase yourself!
  • go and chase yourself
  • go and chase yourself!
  • go chase your tail
  • Go chase your tail!
  • give chase (to someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
'After your first hit you're hooked and you always try to chase the dragon to get that feeling again.'
She becomes consumed by the need to "chase the dragon"-the heroin addiction that seems to keep the Darkness at bay, but leads her to live on the street.
As long as there are buyers there will be dealers and as long as there are desperately ill people who seeK solace in oblivion there will be people only too happy to help them chase the dragon.
The Dragon Steps story begins with a dragon egg hatching in a museum full of curious children who then chase the dragon and get into a whole host of exciting situations.
Sibal also had the final word on the topic: " It's not about whether we should chase the dragon. We should face the dragon."
She said she had been taught how to "chase the dragon" - burn the drug and smoke it through tinfoil.
She was then taught how to "chase the dragon", smoking the drug from tinfoil.
with slashed chest; Pete helps an adoring girl to 'chase the dragon'; Dangerous games as a fan flashes a knife at Pete; Pete's kinky cross-dressing
"The Hippie Dictionary" isn't the sort of book a grandpa would necessarily want to leave out for the grandkids to see, however, considering the number of entries concerning drugs - bindle, bam, chase the dragon, grasshopper - not to mention sex - merkin, root, leg over, plow - to name a handful we can list in a family newspaper.
In a simple Chinese game called "Chase the Dragon's Tail," players almost look like that wiggling and winding dragon.
The seventies-formed band had their most notable success during their early years with hits including Chase The Dragon in 1982.
The ten new songs on The Visitation are now added to an already formidable array of back catalogue material to choose from, dating right back to their 1978 debut, Kingdom Of Madness, and including the likes of 1982's Chase The Dragon and 1990's Goodnight To LA.
The relationship began on the third studio album, Chase The Dragon, released in 1982.