Chasing the dragon
Encyclopedia
"Chasing the dragon" refers to inhaling the vapor from heated morphine
, heroin, oxycodone
or opium
that has been placed on a piece of foil. The 'chasing' occurs as the user gingerly keeps the liquid moving in order to keep it from coalescing into a single, unmanageable mass.
Another more metaphorical use of the term "chasing the dragon" refers to the elusive pursuit of the ultimate high in the usage of some particular drug.
, 2 rectangular pieces of aluminium foil
, a lighter
and a cigarette
.
First, the entire surface of the aluminium foil is heated with the lighter to burn off possible toxic coatings. Then a tube is made by wrapping one of the pieces of foil around the cigarette. Heroin is placed on the other piece of foil, and the tube is placed in the mouth. Now, repeatably the heroin is melted and boiled, and the rising heroin vapor (the dragon) is inhaled with the tube. The boiling, of the heroin, is done by applying heat, with the flame of the lighter, to the underside of the aluminium foil. When heat is applied just left of the heroin above, the liquid heroin will move right, leaving behind a trail of impurities.
A significant part of the heroin vapor will get stuck to the inside of the tube, which after some uses can be unwrapped and "smoked".
"Chasing the dragon" as an ingestion method has been accomplished with various vaporizing apparatus, including traditional opium pipe
s. A makeshift method involves putting the substance in an empty teapot, heating it over a stove, and inhaling through the nozzle via the nose or mouth.
, hepatitis
, and other diseases through needle sharing
, as well as the stress that injection puts on veins. A small puff can be inhaled as a method of gauging the strength of the heroin. Also, the lungs can act to filter out additional pollutants that otherwise would pass directly into the bloodstream; however, in any case, it is never harmless to expose the lungs to any kind of smoke and inhaling heroin itself may lead to toxic leukoencephalopathy
.
In the TV program Blue Mountain State, Harmon Tedesco often refers to having `Chased the Dragon`.
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
, heroin, oxycodone
Oxycodone
Oxycodone is an opioid analgesic medication synthesized from opium-derived thebaine. It was developed in 1916 in Germany, as one of several new semi-synthetic opioids in an attempt to improve on the existing opioids: morphine, diacetylmorphine , and codeine.Oxycodone oral medications are generally...
or opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
that has been placed on a piece of foil. The 'chasing' occurs as the user gingerly keeps the liquid moving in order to keep it from coalescing into a single, unmanageable mass.
Another more metaphorical use of the term "chasing the dragon" refers to the elusive pursuit of the ultimate high in the usage of some particular drug.
Technique
There are many ways to "smoke" heroin, but a common method involves some black tar heroinBlack tar heroin
Black tar heroin is a type of illicit opiate narcotic drug formed from the incomplete acetylation of morphine. It is also called brown.Black tar can contain a variable percentage of heroin, but despite the name, what makes Black Tar specific as a type is not actually its heroin content, but rather...
, 2 rectangular pieces of aluminium foil
Aluminium foil
Aluminium foil is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves, with a thickness less than , thinner gauges down to are also commonly used. In the USA, foils are commonly gauged in mils. Standard household foil is typically thick and heavy duty household foil is typically .The foil is pliable, and...
, a lighter
Lighter
A lighter is a portable device used to generate a flame. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable fluid or pressurized liquid gas, a means of ignition, and some provision for extinguishing the flame.- History :...
and a cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
.
First, the entire surface of the aluminium foil is heated with the lighter to burn off possible toxic coatings. Then a tube is made by wrapping one of the pieces of foil around the cigarette. Heroin is placed on the other piece of foil, and the tube is placed in the mouth. Now, repeatably the heroin is melted and boiled, and the rising heroin vapor (the dragon) is inhaled with the tube. The boiling, of the heroin, is done by applying heat, with the flame of the lighter, to the underside of the aluminium foil. When heat is applied just left of the heroin above, the liquid heroin will move right, leaving behind a trail of impurities.
A significant part of the heroin vapor will get stuck to the inside of the tube, which after some uses can be unwrapped and "smoked".
"Chasing the dragon" as an ingestion method has been accomplished with various vaporizing apparatus, including traditional opium pipe
Opium pipe
An opium pipe is a pipe designed for the vaporization and inhalation of opium. True opium pipes allow for the drug to be vaporized while being heated over a special oil lamp known as an opium lamp. It is thought that this manner of "smoking" opium began in the seventeenth century when a special...
s. A makeshift method involves putting the substance in an empty teapot, heating it over a stove, and inhaling through the nozzle via the nose or mouth.
Health
Such ingestion may pose less immediate danger to the user than injecting heroin, due to eliminating the risk of transmission of HIVHIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
, hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
, and other diseases through needle sharing
Needle sharing
Needle sharing is the practice of intravenous drug-users by which a syringe is shared by multiple individuals to administer intravenous drugs, and is a primary vector for diseases which can be transmitted through blood ....
, as well as the stress that injection puts on veins. A small puff can be inhaled as a method of gauging the strength of the heroin. Also, the lungs can act to filter out additional pollutants that otherwise would pass directly into the bloodstream; however, in any case, it is never harmless to expose the lungs to any kind of smoke and inhaling heroin itself may lead to toxic leukoencephalopathy
Toxic leukoencephalopathy
Toxic leukoencephalopathy or toxic spongiform leukoencephalopathy is a condition that is characterized by progressive damage , of the white matter of the brain due to ingested toxins ....
.
Metaphorical
The metaphorical meaning of the term alludes to the feeling that the next ingested dosage of the drug will result in a nirvana that seems and feels imminent and conclusive, yet upon consumption never quite yields the promised experience—leading to the desire for the next dose that still promises the same—thus chasing the dragon but never catching it (like "chasing after the wind [a wild wind]", a biblical term). Medically speaking, this sensation is a common aspect of drug addiction in which psychological and physical drug tolerance causes a diminishing return curve in the user's enjoyment of the drug. Here, the "dragon" represents the user's best euphoric experiences with the drug (usually due to novelty and inexperience), but with the positive effects diminishing (and often being replaced with negative effects) over time with each consecutive experience, causing the user to fruitlessly "chase" harder and use more of the drug in order to try and recapture the initial euphoria. It may also refer to the user "chasing" the smoke that flows in the space between the tube and the foil.In popular culture
- Title of multiple films - from different genres, but usually involving drug addiction.
- A 1996 Lifetime Network Television movie was called Chasing the Dragon; it starred Markie PostMarkie PostMarjorie Armstrong "Markie" Post is an American actress, best known for her roles as bail bondswoman Terri Michaels in The Fall Guy on ABC from 1982 to 1985, as public defender Christine Sullivan on the NBC sitcom Night Court from 1985 to 1992, and as Georgie Anne Lahti Hartman on the CBS sitcom...
as a middle-class mom who becomes addicted to heroin. - The autobiographyAutobiographyAn autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Chasing the Dragon, by missionary Jackie PullingerJackie PullingerJackie Pullinger MBE is a British Protestant Christian charismatic missionary to Hong Kong and founder of the St Stephen's Society. She has been ministering in Hong Kong since 1966. Her work has resulted in at least 1000 drug addicts being saved from their drug addictions...
. recalls how she went to Hong Kong to help drug addicts quit "chasing the dragon" through Christian teaching and prayer. - Chasing the Dragon is a Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
bootleg recordingBootleg recordingA bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
of a concert at Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
on March 4, 1975, released by Empress Valley label. - "Chasing the Dragon" is the title of various songs by rapper Ill BillIll BillWilliam Braunstein, better known as Ill Bill, is a American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York. Having gained notoriety in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known for his hardcore lyrics and as the producer, founder and CEO of Uncle Howie Records...
, American glam metalGlam metalGlam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
band L.A. GunsL.A. GunsL.A. Guns is the name of a hard rock group formed in Los Angeles, California, of which two rival incarnations currently exist due to numerous line-up changes. The first incarnation of the group was formed, by Tracii Guns, in 1983 but disbanded in 1985 following its merger with fellow Los Angeles...
, Dutch symphonic metalSymphonic metalSymphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
band EpicaEpica (band)Epica is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded by guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen subsequent to his departure from After Forever. They are known for their symphonic sound and the use of female vocals and male growls performed by Simone Simons and Mark Jansen, respectively. All six members write...
, Australian rock supergroupSupergroup (music)In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Beasts of BourbonBeasts of BourbonBeasts of Bourbon was an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1983, with a line-up that has changed as the band splintered and reformed several times - Beginnings :...
, Wan Kwong, Dream EvilDream EvilDream Evil is a heavy metal band from Sweden, assembled and integrated by renowned musical producer Fredrik Nordström in 1999.-Biography:Producer Fredrik Nordström had the ambition of creating a power metal band of his own for a long time, but had difficulty finding anyone with musical ideals...
, Machine Gun FellatioMachine Gun FellatioMachine Gun Fellatio was an Australian alternative rock band, formed in 1997. They were well-known for their provocative on-stage antics and humorous lyrics, as well as the musical merit of their songs. Their outrage-provoking name gives some idea of the attitude that pervades the band's work...
and 90's Christian band Code of EthicsCode of Ethics (band)Code of Ethics was a primarily 90's band that wrote and performed many genres including New Wave and pop.-History:Code of Ethics formed in the early '90s with Barry Blaze and Eric Switzer. The duo released Visual Paradox as a self-published project, which was later picked up by indie label R.E.X....
. - The title of Urge OverkillUrge OverkillUrge Overkill is an alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, United States, consisting of Nash Kato , and Eddie "King" Roeser . Their cover of Neil Diamond's song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" appeared prominently in the movie Pulp Fiction, and became a hit in 1994...
's album Exit The Dragon references the act of exhaling heroin smoke (as well as the Bruce LeeBruce LeeBruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
film Enter the DragonEnter the DragonEnter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...
). The front cover is a picture of (presumably) exhaled smoke. The song "The Mistake", a warning to "beware the overdose", contains the lyrics, "Never gonna make it today/Until you finally exit the dragon". Ex-drummer Blackie Onassis is a known heroin addict and was fired from the band for his addiction.
In the TV program Blue Mountain State, Harmon Tedesco often refers to having `Chased the Dragon`.