drug seeking
Pursuing illicit chemicals
Drug seeking describes behavior aimed at obtaining drugs, especially controlled substances like opioids or benzodiazepines.
The term appears most often in medical settings, where it characterizes patients suspected of exaggerating or fabricating symptoms to get prescriptions: The ER flagged him as drug seeking.
The label can be contentious—it may reflect genuine addiction, undertreated pain, or provider bias.
- addictionCompulsive substance reliance
- cravingPowerful urge to have
- withdrawalAct of taking away
- prescriptionMedical dispensing authorization
- opioidsReceptor-binding pain relievers
pain pills · desperate · emergency · pill · pill mill · painkiller · doctor · pharmacy · fix · dependence · narcotics · relapse · tolerance · hooked · junkie · hustling · feigning · manipulative
- drug abusepainkiller abuse, stimulant abuse, doctor shopping, pill popping, overdose
- patient behaviorsadherence, noncompliance, self-care, follow-up, pill taking
- stimulant abusemeth, crystal meth, speed, meth addiction, cocaine addiction
- addictionaddiction, substance abuse, substance dependency, substance use disorder, alcoholism
drug seekingsobriety
Unimpaired mental state
abstinence · clean living · sober living · teetotalism · drug-free
drug seekingrecovery
Regaining what was lost
help-seeking · addiction recovery · rehab · detox · relapse prevention
drug, drugs, drugged, drugging, druggist, drugstore, seek, seeks, seeker