drug

Related to drug: drug abuse, drugstore

do drugs

To use drugs recreationally. I really admire Jess for never submitting to the peer pressure of those around her to drink or do drugs.
See also: drug

do the drug thing

To use drugs recreationally. Sure, I used to do the drug thing, once upon a time—but then I went to rehab.
See also: drug, thing

drug

slang To use drugs recreationally. I really admire Jess for never submitting to the peer pressure of those around her to drink or drug.

drug deal

The exchange of money for drugs. I think I just watched a drug deal take place on our corner!
See also: deal, drug

drug lord

The most powerful person in a group that sells illegal drugs. The trial for the cartel's powerful drug lord begins today under heavy security.
See also: drug, lord

drug of choice

1. An illicit substance one is addicted to or tends to prefer. I dabbled with a few different recreational drugs in college, but marijuana was my drug of choice.
2. The favored pharmaceutical treatment for a given medical condition or ailment. Lithium has long been the drug of choice for many physicians to treat depression and bipolar disorder.
3. By extension, any habit, activity, or vice that one is particularly fond of or dependent upon. A lot of people resort to drugs or alcohol to cope with their problems, but exercise has always been my drug of choice. Coffee became my drug of choice after working as a barista for three years during college.
See also: choice, drug, of

drug on the market

Something that is not in great demand because it is abundantly available. Mobile phones are a drug on the market these days, which is why they're so affordable.
See also: drug, market, on

drugged up to the eyeballs

Heavily under the influence of drugs. I don't remember anything from after my surgery—I was drugged up to the eyeballs!
See also: drug, eyeball, up

drughead

slang Someone who uses or is addicted to drugs. Yeah, I used to be a drughead, but that was a long time ago—before I went to rehab.

drugstore cowboy

1. A young man who loiters in public places, such as on street corners or outside of drugstores, especially in the attempt to impress or woo young women. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. I hate going through this area, there's always a few drugstore cowboys cat-calling me when I pass by.
2. A person who dresses and acts like a cowboy but who has never worked as one and has none of a cowboy's skills or experience. Originally a reference to extras in Hollywood western films (who would remain in costume off set), it later extended to anyone who wears cowboy clothing purely for the purposes of style or affectation. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. The senator accused his challenger of being a drugstore cowboy—a city slicker who had no idea what it meant to live or work in the rural countryside.
3. One who sells, steals, and/or gets high on prescription or over-the-counter medications. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. Police apprehended a drugstore cowboy who held up a local pharmacy and made off with loads of prescription medication.
See also: cowboy

gateway drug

slang An illegal substance that is considered less harmful than other drugs and is thought to cause one to eventually use more potent or dangerous drugs. Marijuana and alcohol are typically seen as gateway drugs. I know marijuana can be a gateway drug, so I really worry that Chris will move from pot to hard drugs one day.
See also: drug

hard drug

slang An illegal substance that is considered highly addictive and especially harmful or dangerous. Yeah, I smoke pot sometimes, but hard drugs are not for me, man. Of course I don't do heroin, that's a hard drug!
See also: drug, hard

head drug

slang A substance that affects one's mental abilities and/or mood; a psychoactive, often hallucinogenic, drug. Come on, you went to Woodstock—you can't tell me you've never taken head drugs before.
See also: drug, head

kick the (something)

slang To overcome an addiction to something. It took gum, patches, and even hypnosis, but I've finally kicked the habit. Unfortunately, the physical nature of heroin addiction means that kicking the habit isn't as simple as just wanting to stop. After saying such horrible things to my parents, I decided it was finally time to kick the booze for good.
See also: kick

sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll

A phrase used to indicate a wild, hedonistic lifestyle. Being a touring musician is not as exciting as it seems—it's definitely not all sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll.
See also: and, rock, roll
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

do drugs

 and do dope
to take illegal drugs; to use illegal drugs habitually. Sam doesn't do drugs, and he doesn't drink. Richard started doing dope when he was very young.
See also: drug

a drug on the market

 and a glut on the market
something that is on the market in great abundance. Right now, small computers are a drug on the market. Twenty years ago, small transistor radios were a glut on the market.
See also: drug, market, on
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

drug on the market

A commodity whose supply greatly exceeds the demand for it. For example, Now that asbestos is considered dangerous, asbestos tile is a drug on the market. The use of the noun drug in the sense of "something overabundant" (as opposed to a medicine or narcotic) dates from the mid-1600s, but the first record of the full expression, put as drug in the market, dates only from the 1830s.
See also: drug, market, on
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

drugged up to the eyeballs

If someone is drugged up to the eyeballs, they have taken a lot of drugs which have strongly affected them. He wasn't making much sense, lying in his hospital bed, drugged up to the eyeballs.
See also: drug, eyeball, up
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a drug on the market

an unsaleable or valueless commodity.
Drug in the sense of ‘a commodity for which there is no demand’ is recorded from the mid 17th century, but it is not clear from the word's history whether it is the same word as the medicinal substance.
1998 Spectator Merchant banks are a drug on the market these days.
See also: drug, market, on
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

drugged up to the ˈeyeballs

have taken or been given a lot of drugs: She was drugged up to the eyeballs, but still in a lot of pain.
See also: drug, eyeball, up

kick the ˈhabit, ˈdrug, ˈbooze, etc.

stop doing something harmful that you have done for a long time: According to research, only one smoker in a hundred is able to kick the habit without some kind of help.
See also: kick
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

do drugs

and do dope
tv. to take drugs; to use drugs habitually. (Drugs and now general.) Is she still doing dope? Rocko doesn’t do drugs, and he doesn’t drink.
See also: drug

do the drug thing

tv. to be involved with drugs; to take drugs. Man, you gotta stop doing the drug thing.
See also: drug, thing

drug

1. in. to use drugs. (Drugs.) There is no way that she will stop drugging by herself.
2. and drug out mod. down; depressed. We are all drug out after that meeting.

drug out

verb
See drug
See also: drug, out

drug lord

n. a drug dealer high up in the distribution chain. The drug lords like Mr. Big seem never to get arrested.
See also: drug, lord

drughead

n. a heavy drug user; an addict. (Drugs.) They find a drughead in the river about once a month.

drugstore cowboy

n. a male who hangs around drugstores and other public places trying to impress women. You don’t see the old drugstore cowboys around this part of town anymore.
See also: cowboy

head drug

n. a drug that affects the mind rather than the body; a psychoactive drug. It’s these head drugs that get the kids into so much trouble.
See also: drug, head
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

drug on the market

An overabundant commodity or service for which there is little or no demand. This expression clearly predates modern times, since drugs on the market, both illegal and legal, now are very profitable indeed. The English clergyman Thomas Fuller (The History of the Worthies of England, 1662) wrote, “He made such a vent for Welsh cottons, that what he found drugs at home, he left dainties beyond the sea.” The OED suggests that “drug” here has some different meaning but does not come up with a convincing explanation. Another writer suggests it may come from the French drogue, for “rubbish,” which makes more sense.
See also: drug, market, on
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

drugstore cowboy

A derisive phrase for a fashionably dressed man who loitered around public places trying to pick up women. The phrase, which may have originated with movie cowboys who wore their costumes when they broke for lunch, brings to mind the fashion plate's inability to ride anything more challenging than a drugstore counter stool.
See also: cowboy
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • do drugs
  • courier
  • dope up
  • hemp
  • gateway drug
  • spike
  • spike (one's) drink
  • spike somebody's drink
  • skull
  • be out of (one's) skull
References in periodicals archive
It's the same with physical pain: Too much agony can be as life-destroying and consciousness-contracting as too much anesthesia, and the determination of how much is too much depends both on the original level of pain and on how the drug changes it.
While it's always better to have fewer needs, physical dependence on medication, in and of itself, needn't be a problem if the drug is readily available and safe.
In defense of happy pills: why talk to a shrink if Prozac or Zoloft will do the trick?
They have tons of info on drug and alcohol abuse, and can direct you to help in your area.
Prescription for trouble: from middle schoolers lookin' for a buzz to high school students attempting to lose weight to college kids pulling all nighters, Ritalin abuse is rampant. But most girls don't know pills can be as dangerous as street drugs. Why are so many willing to take the risk? Here are the facts about this troubling trend
At this stage, data on the drug metabolism and excretion profile may be consulted to allow a more accurate calculation of the PEC and determine whether metabolites need to be tested.
Damming the flow of drugs into drinking water
Charmaine Royal, Ph.D., director of the GenEthics Unit at the National Human Genome Center, says despite BiDil's initial success, African Americans should not be treated as a monolith when it comes to drug therapy.
Are race-specific drugs unethical? With BiDil on the market, experts weigh the moral implications
And, as writer Greg Critser argues in this fascinating, often funny but ultimately flawed book, the drug industry's brilliant marketing techniques also helped turn Americans into a nation of pill poppers, or "Generation Rx." The book's first half is devoted to a detailed and compellingly told history of the transformation of the pharmaceutical industry from a group of conservative companies, focused on research and development, into marketing powerhouses.
Ill informed: how drug companies convince Americans they're sicker than they are
In the past decade, many studies have sought the identity of the brain areas and chemical signals that trigger drug cravings--information that could eventually result in pharmaceuticals that help addicts stick to treatment programs.
Food fix: neurobiology highlights similarities between obesity and drug addiction
Volkow, M.D., Director National Institute on Drug Abuse
Stress and drug abuse
Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration is already holding back innovation in the drug industry, keeping needed medicines off the market for years.
The ills of fixing drug prices
Timing the delivery of medications to minimize waste: By enabling the careful coordination of specialty drug delivery, which often requires strict storage conditions, specialty pharmacies prevent plan sponsors from paying for medications that, when improperly stored, become unsafe to use.
Special delivery: health insurers need to manage the cost and use of specialty drugs
Appendix A shows the general drug prevention messages identified as the most relevant for adolescents in the seventh and eighth grades.
An update on adolescent drug use: what school counselors need to know
According to Drug Free Pennsylvania, the annual cost of substance abuse in the workplace for U.S.
To test or not to test? Institutions should consider expanding their drug-testing practices. Here's why
The Taiwan Surveillance of Drug Resistance in Tuberculosis program will be extended to collect each patient's clinical and epidemiologic data, according to principles suggested in the guidelines prepared by the World Health Organization.
Drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Taiwan
* enable changes to drug pricing and reimbursement;
Ontario sets drug reform plan
Another reason is that abusers may mistakenly believe that prescription drugs, because they come from a pharmacy and not a drug dealer, are safer to take, even at high doses or without a prescription.
Prescription drugs: their use and abuse