Drug injection can lead to a dependency by both physical and psychological means — and develops more quickly than with other methods of taking drugs. In recreational-use drug culture, preparation may include mixing the powdered drug with water to create an aqueous solution, and then the solution is injected. This act is often colloquially referred to as "slamming", "shooting [up]", “smashing”, "banging", "pinning", or "jacking-up", often depending on the specific drug subculture in which the term is used (i.e. heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine). There are a variety of reasons why drugs would be more attractive to inject rather than take through other
Drug tolerance of intoxication when drinking even very small amounts of alcohol. Drug tolerance should not be confused with drug tolerability, which refers to the degree to which overt adverse effects of a drug can be tolerated by a patient. Tachyphylaxis is a subcategory of drug tolerance referring to cases of sudden, short-term onset of tolerance following the administration of a drug. Pharmacodynamic tolerance begins when the cellular response to a substance is reduced with repeated use. A common cause of pharmacodynamic tolerance is high concentrations of a substance constantly binding with the receptor, desensitizing it through constant interaction. Other possibilities include