Dope sickness is slang for opiate withdrawal — the physically and psychologically agonising illness that follows the cessation of opiate use in a dependent person. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, sweating, muscle cramps, insomnia, and intense craving. The term is used within and about addiction communities, in harm reduction contexts, and in journalism and literature about the opioid crisis. It is frank and unglamourised language that names the experience directly without euphemism.
She showed up looking grey and shaking — classic dope sickness, anyone could see it.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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(slang) Illness due to withdrawal from opiates.
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