Terry's case: A Youth at Risk

Quick Reference on Substance Use

A  B  C  D  E  F  H  I  J  L  M  0  P  R  S  T  V  W

A

Amphetamine: a synthetic central nervous system stimulant with cocaine-like effects.

B

Bang: slang for injecting.

Barbiturate: a sedative-hypnotic substance from the depressant group; derived from barbituric acid and used in medical practice to calm nervous individuals and induce sleep.

Benzodiazepine: an antianxiety drug, such as Librium or Valium, used in medical practice to treat anxiety and various psychiatric/neurotic conditions.

Blackout: alcohol-induced amnesia or memory loss without loss of consciousness.

Bong: slang name for a pot pipe.

Booting: a procedure whereby IV heroin users inject the needle into their veins, withdraw some blood, mix it with the heroin and then complete the injection.

C

Cannabis: marijuana or any preparation derived form the hemp plant

Chasing the Dragon: the most common way to smoke heroin is to place it on a small sheet of tin foil, melt the heroin by heating it over a flame, and inhale the smoke as it comes off the melting substances.

Chipping: using heroin on an occasional basis.

Cocaine: a powerful central nervous system stimulant, derived from the coca leaf, commonly sold as water-soluble hydrochloride salt for sniffing or injecting.

Convulsion: a condition produced by the blockage of inhibitory transmission in the brain, marked by involuntary, sudden muscle contractions.

Cookers: spoons and bottle caps used to mix up the powder with water and in some cases heated to melt the substances. After the liquid is drawn up some substances will be left behind in the cooker.

Crack Cocaine: a smokeable, intensified form of cocaine now considered one of the most addictive substances ever known.

Crashing: a disturbing period of mental depression occurring when a person stops taking a central nervous system stimulant after a period of chronic use.

Cut: ingredients added to a substance to increase its bulk.

D

Depressant: a substance that slows down body functions; a sedative that depresses the nervous system, relaxes, tranquillizes or produces sleep.

Designer drugs: slang for substances derived from fentanyl-type opiates with both stimulant and hallucinogenic properties.

Detoxification: the process of alcohol/substance withdrawal in which the body is allowed to rid itself of the toxic effects of the alcohol/substance in the bloodstream.

Doing a wash: taking water into the used needle and adding it back into the cooker, getting the last of the substances. Blood from the needle is now in the cooker.

Downers: a slang term for barbiturates.

DTs: delirium tremens, a severe form of alcohol withdrawal, characterized by hallucinations, mental disorientation, agitation with continuous motor activity, involuntary body tremors and convulsions.

E

Ecstasy: a popular name for a designer substance, MDMA, that has psychedelic qualities and provides a euphoric "rush" of cocaine-like, mind-expanding effects without scary visual distortions.

Eight-ball: slang for 8 grams of cocaine.

F

Filters: cigarette filters, cotton swabs, Q-tips used to filter out any particles, solid chunks or impurities. Adding water from a used needle to the filter during a wash can leave blood in the filter.

Fits: slang for syringes

Flagging: drawing blood into the syringe

Flash: a short, intense generalized sensation of well-being experienced soon after intravenous injection of cocaine or methamphetamine; the so-called "rush" reaction.

Flashback: an undesirable recurrence of the substance's effects with no recent substance consumption to explain changes in consciousness, and experience of illusions and hallucinations.

Freebasing: the chemical process of changing common white cocaine powder into a purer, more potent, smokeable form of cocaine "base," which the user then smokes in a glass water pipe that is heated by a butane lighter.

H

Hallucination: groundless false perception having no real external cause, which may occur in any field of sensation: auditory, visual, olfactory or tactile.

Hallucinogen: a substance that induces or produces hallucinations in a substance user.

Hashish: a cannabis preparation more potent than marijuana, and derived from the resinous secretions of the cannabis plant's female flowers.

Hash oil: a dark, viscous liquid produced by repeated extraction of cannabis plant materials with a THC concentration greater than that of hashish.

Heroin: a synthetic narcotic, one of the more powerful dependency-producing drugs, made by treating morphine with acetic anhydride.

Hot Knives: knives that are used to smoke hash. The knives are heated on the stove or with a blow torch and small pieces of hash are picked up on one knife and pressed against the other to cook the pieces; the smoke is inhaled. A paper or glass tube will protect the lips from burning against the hot knives.

I

Ice: a highly addictive crystallized form of methamphetamine that produces a euphoric high that lasts for several hours; ingested in pill form, snorted or injected IV.

Injection: the introduction of a substance into the bloodstream without it having to be absorbed through the digestive tract.

J

Jonesing: slang for craving.

L

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD): one of the most powerful synthetic psychedelics derived from the ergot fungus.

M

Mainlining: a substance administration method in which a drug is injected directly into a vein; intravenous injection.

Marijuana: any part of the cannabis plant or its extract used for its hallucinogenic and mind-altering properties. The active constituents are primarily tetrahydrocannabinols (THC).

Mescaline: a hallucinogenic substance found in the peyote cactus.

Methadone: a synthetic narcotic that produces many of the same effects as heroin and morphine but whose duration is up to 24 hours, thus making the substance useful as a harm reduction strategy.

Methamphetamine: a synthetic amphetamine substance, know as "meth" or "speed," commonly abused by intravenous injection for the rapid, intense euphoria of the "rush" or "flash" effect.

Morphine: a naturally occurring narcotic substance, derived from opium and used medically as a sedative and for pain relief.

MPTP: an extremely nerve-damaging designer drug that attacks the part of the brain that regulates movement, resulting in permanent symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Use of this "designer heroin" causes arthritis-like symptoms at first, such as stiffness, tremors, body seizures, difficulty in speaking, and eventually results in a stiffening body paralysis.

O

Opium: a naturally occurring narcotic derived from the opium poppy, and considered as the "mother drug" or main source of non-synthetic narcotics.

Overdose "OD": undesirable physical and mental experiences ranging from tremors and agitation, hostility, panic and death.

P

Paraquat: a herbicide or plant killer that has been used to reduce the growth of cannabis plants; a marijuana contaminant associated with both temporary and permanent damage to specific body organs -- the heart, kidneys, central nervous system, liver, skeletal muscles and spleen.

Peyote: the fleshy green cactus tips or mescal buttons of the peyote cactus which, upon chewing, swallowing or smoking, will cause stomach disorders, nausea, vomiting and a variety of LSD-like effects. Can be used in a native ceremony.

Phencyclidine (PCP): a unique psychoactive drug having psychedelic, stimulant, depressant, hallucinogenic, psychoto-mimetic, analgesic and anesthetic properties, used legally today only in veterinary medical practice because of its unpleasant side effects in humans.

Pipes: the smaller bowled pipe is used mostly for smoking hash and the larger bowl used for smoking the leaves and flowers of the marijuana plant.

Poke: slang for injecting.

Pop Cans: pop can with a dent in the side and small holes pushed into it, making a screen. Cigarette ash is placed on the screen and the rock of crack on top of that. The crack melts as it is heated and the smoke is drawn through the can's opening.

Psilocybin: a psychedelic substance derived originally from so-called sacred or magic mushrooms, having effects similar to but less intense than LSD.

Psychedelics: substances that can affect one's perception, awareness and emotions, which sometimes cause hallucinations and illusions.

R

Rock: slang for crack.

Roid rage: slang for the tendency of some anabolic steroid users to become unusually aggressive and display sudden bursts of explosive violence.

Rush: a short-lived jolt and tingling sensation of intense well-being or euphoria experienced soon after injecting directly into a vein.

S

Shooting gallery: a place where substance users can go to inject substances. Needles and/or other paraphernalia may be available.

Skin-popping: slang for injecting substances under the skin with a hypodermic needle.

Snorting: a method of substance taking in which a substance, such as cocaine, is inhaled or sniffed; the finely chopped cocaine powder is absorbed through the mucous membrane lining the nose.

Speed: methamphetamine

Speedball: a mixture of cocaine and heroin that is injected into the veins; a combination of any central nervous system stimulant and depressant.

Speed runs: prolonged periods of heavy stimulant use in which an amphetamine solution is injected as often as every hour.

Stacking: jargon for using more than one anabolic steroid at a time to equal several times the therapeutic dose of steroids and enhance their effects.

Step on: a process whereby substances such as baking soda, talc, lactose and/or quinine are added to a drug to increase its bulk and reduce its purity.

T

THC: the most active and principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Tourniquets or Ties: belts, dry condoms, string or rubber tourniquet used to tie off the arm in order to help get the veins to stand out. This makes it easier for users to hit themselves.

Tips: a variety of mind-altering effects induced by a psychedelic substance and subjectively interpreted.

V

Valium: a frequently prescribed brand name of diazepam that functions as an antianxiety drug or minor tranquillizer.

W

Water Bottles and Syringe: pipes that are made from equipment supplied by needle exchange programs. The needle is broken off a syringe to make a tube and melted through the side of a water bottle. The top of the bottle is covered with tin foil with small holes for a screen. The pipe is smoked the same way as the pop can.

Water Pipe: considered the healthiest way to smoke pot (and tobacco). The water acts as a filter, removing more of the toxins than a cigarette filter, giving the smoker THC-rich smoke.

Withdrawal: occurs when a user discontinues drug administration and may include several symptoms of pain and dysphoria, including vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, headache, depression, irritability, anxiety, cramps, elevation of heart rate and blood pressure, and convulsions.

Works: slang for the equipment used to inject substances (syringe, needle, plunger, cooker, cotton, water glass).

 

Glossary related to substance use adapted from :
Carroll Charles R, Drugs in Modern Society. Ball State University, Brown & Benchmark. 1993.; and Fishbein Diana H, Pease Susan E. The Dynamics of Drug Abuse. Allyn and Bacon. 1996.

and quoted in :
Canadian Aids Society. Under the Influence. Making the Connection Between HIV/AIDS and Substance Use, Canadian Public Health Association, October 1997, pp. 109-114.

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