COLLOCATIONS with the word DRUG
VERBS
💥take/use drugs
I think I took drugs to escape my problems.
💥do drugs (informal (=take drugs))
All my friends were doing drugs.
💥be on drugs (=take drugs regularly)
It can be very hard to tell if your teenager is on drugs.
💥be addicted to drugs/dependent on drugs (=be unable to stop taking drugs)
People who are addicted to drugs need help.
💥be/get hooked on drugs informal (=be/get addicted)
She got hooked on drugs, and ended up homeless.
💥experiment with drugs (=try taking drugs)
She admitted that she had experimented with drugs.
💥come off/get off drugs (=stop taking drugs permanently)
It was years before I was able to come off drugs.
💥deal (in) drugs (also supply drugs formal) (=sell drugs)
He’s in jail for dealing drugs.
💥inject drugs (=use a needle to put drugs into your body)
People who share equipment for injecting drugs are at risk of contracting HIV.
💥be high on drugs (=be experiencing the effects of a drug)
He committed the crime while he was high on drugs.
drug + NOUN
💥drug use/abuse (=taking drugs)
She is being treated for drug abuse.
💥a drug user (=someone who takes drugs)
We set up a counselling service for drug users.
💥drug addiction (=the problem of not being able to stop taking drugs)
his struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction
💥a drug addict (=someone who cannot stop taking drugs)
At 20 Steve was a drug addict, unemployed and lonely.
💥a drug problem (=the problem of being addicted to drugs)
His daughter has a drug problem.
💥a drug overdose (=taking too much of a drug at one time)
She died from a drug overdose.
💥a drug dealer/pusher (=someone who sells drugs)
The city's streets are full of drug dealers.
💥a drug trafficker/smuggler (=someone involved in bringing drugs into a country)
US efforts against drug traffickers
💥drug trafficking/smuggling (=the crime of bringing drugs into a country)
The maximum penalty for drug smuggling was 25 years in jail.
💥the drug trade
the international drug trade
💥the war on drugs (=a long struggle by the authorities to control drugs)
The war on drugs continues.
💥a drug charge (=a legal accusation that someone is guilty of having or selling drugs)
He’s awaiting trial on a drug charge.
💥a drug offence (=a crime related to having or selling drugs)
Luciani is serving 20 years for drug offences.
ADJECTIVES
💥illegal drugs
A lot of crime is connected to illegal drugs.
💥hard drugs (also class A drugs British English) (=strong drugs such as heroin, cocaine etc)
He was in prison for dealing hard drugs.
💥soft drugs (=less strong drugs such as marijuana)
Soft drugs are legal in some countries.
💥recreational drugs (=taken for pleasure)
Ecstasy was first used in Britain as a recreational drug in the 1980s.
💥designer drugs (=produced artificially from chemicals)
Designer drugs are highly addictive and can have unpredictable side effects.
COMMON ERRORS
► Don’t say ‘light drugs’. Say soft drugs. Instead of ‘heavy drugs’, you usually say hard drugs.
#vocabulary #speaking #полезнаялексика #collocations@learnknow
