What does chasing the dragon mean

Alex US English. David US English. Mark US English. Daniel British. Libby British. Mia British. Karen Australian. Hayley Australian. Natasha Australian. Veena Indian. Priya Indian.

Neerja Indian. The expression in one way refers to how someone uses heroin through smoking it. Heroin turns into a sticky substance that wiggles around like what one may envision a Chinese dragon to dance like. Addiction in any capacity is typically all about trying to gain the feeling that one receives from their initial high.

There are many elements that can impact the high such as tolerance being built with each use along with the potency and purity of the drug. Item Type. Publication Type. Irish-related, Open Access, Article. Drug Type. International Journal of Drug Policy. Google Scholar. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. World Drug Report Buxton JA: Vancouver drug use epidemiology. Huizer H: Analytical studies on illicit heroin. Efficacy of volatilization during heroin smoking.

Pharm Weekbl Sci. Br J Addict. Acta Neuropathol. J Clin Neurosci. J Neurol. Article Google Scholar. Download references. The authors would like to thank Dr. Mark Gilbert for his assistance and input in the follow-up of the Vancouver Island cases. Division of Neurology, Dept. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Correspondence to Jane A Buxton. JAB oversaw and gave input at all levels of the investigations.

ML and LC followed up the cases in Vancouver. RS and LS followed up the cases in Victoria. LC wrote a report on Vancouver cases. RS wrote the first draft of the paper. NA performed an updated literature review and edited the paper. SDS provided clinical expertise. All authors have read, given input and approved the final manuscript.

This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. Reprints and Permissions. Buxton, J. Chasing the dragon - characterizing cases of leukoencephalopathy associated with heroin inhalation in British Columbia. Harm Reduct J 8, 3 Download citation. Received : 11 December Accepted : 21 January Published : 21 January Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:. Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative.

View archived comments 1. Skip to main content. Search all BMC articles Search. Download PDF. Abstract An association between leukoencephalopathy, a disease of the white matter of the brain, and smoking heroin is well recognized.