for no ads

a habitual drug user?

6 replies
Anonymous:
Hello, everyone!
Please help me with the following problem.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "a habitual drug user"?
Is it 'a person who's been addicted to illegal drugs such as Coke'?
Or is it 'a person who's been on medications to manage a chronic disease'?
:
Ok...i am not native but I am gonna try to contribute.

According to Cambridge dictionary, 'drugs' either means:

medicine - any natural or artificially made chemical which is used as a medicine.

or

illegal substance - any natural or artificially made chemical which is taken for pleasure, to improve someone's performance of an activity, or because a person cannot stop using it.

So I presume by your expression, it can be both meanings, tending to illegal substance because if it is a person who has permanent illness due to complications it would be wiser to talk about his sickness, not the medicine. I think it's a problem of semantic.
Junior Member94
:
Without a doubt, to me it means someone who frequently uses illegal drugs. It does not mean the person is addicted. (And if you mean cocaine, it's not Coke, but coke. Although I drink more Diet Coke than most people, few of us are actually addicted to the carbonated beverage.)

If you need to describe someone who uses medications to manage a chronic disease, do not call that person a "drug user."
Veteran Member26,670
Proficient Speaker: Users in this role are known to maintain an excellent grasp of the English language. You can only be promoted to this role by the Englishforums team.Retired Moderator: A moderator who has retired.Trusted Users: Trusted users are allowed to use additional capabilities of the site such as private messaging to all users and various other advanced features. You cannot join this role unless you are promoted by an administrator.
Anonymous:
How about 'a habitual user of drug'?
Doesn't this too refer to a person who atkes medications regularly in order to manage his/her
chronic illness?
:
No, it isn't used as a phrase to describe people who take prescription medicines. 'User' is only ever used to describe someone who uses illegal/recreational drugs.
Veteran Member11,782
Proficient Speaker: Users in this role are known to maintain an excellent grasp of the English language. You can only be promoted to this role by the Englishforums team.Retired Moderator: A moderator who has retired.Trusted Users: Trusted users are allowed to use additional capabilities of the site such as private messaging to all users and various other advanced features. You cannot join this role unless you are promoted by an administrator.
:
A habitual drug user: This is the kind way of saying that someone is addicted to a drug (Whether illegal or an abuse of a medication like Oxycontin). It's often used when someone of high social class uses drugs. It makes me think of someone that gets addicted to pain-killers after an accident, and they can't stop taking the drug even though they don't need it for pain management anymore.

For illegal drugs, it's more common to hear "junkie" or "addict". I would use the terms "coke-head" or "meth-head" to describe someone that abuses those drugs.
Contributing Member1,896
Proficient Speaker: Users in this role are known to maintain an excellent grasp of the English language. You can only be promoted to this role by the Englishforums team.Trusted Users: Trusted users are allowed to use additional capabilities of the site such as private messaging to all users and various other advanced features. You cannot join this role unless you are promoted by an administrator.
Anonymous:

For someone using prescription drugs appropriately over a long period of time, I think I would instinctively say “on long-term medication”.

Lil’ Ruby Rose
Interesting stuff
Live chat
Registered users can join here

Related forum topics:

Mr. Bush plans hit on drug abuse?gorked on drug?"Habitual action" plus...Drug Prohibitiondrug store and more?How does "federal government" stymy...has drug or has dragged??not my drug?habitual will?drug/s trafficker?a track worn by a wheel or by habitual passage?drug[s]?drug?present continious tense for habitual or...habitual about?

Places to start

 

Community Sites

Browse Englishforums


Help