History Main / MistakenForJunkie

* RealLife -- During the Sydney Olympics a cleaner received a needle stick injury whilst cleaning an Australian athlete's room, but the needle turned out to be for a vitamin shot.

* Real Life: If somebody is having to either have a massive number of blood-draws or injections -- or both -- for medical reasons, they might actually have to carry around a card or other paperwork verifying that the tracks are all perfectly legitimate.
* Another RealLife example, not quite following the trope as straight as others, but pretty close: When somebody is taking medication for mental illness, many people (especially people such as MoralGuardians and TheFundamentalist) tend to think that it's as if they were taking something mind-altering. This can lead to embarrassment and awkward situations.

* There's an example on ''JonathanCreek'' where something like this is pulled on the audience - we see the girl pull out a syringe, but it's quickly confiscated by her aunt. [[spoiler:Her aunt is crazy, and the killer of the week, and is trying to kill the girl (who is presumably a diabetic) by locking her in a room without her insulin after she discovered details about the aunt's previous murder.]]

** Max herself saw entered the exact moment a prostitute was inyecting herself and received a very casual "I'm a diabetic, this is my insulin shot" right after the woman noticed her presence.

* There's an example on ''JonathanCreek'' where something like this is pulled on the audience - we see the girl pull out a syringe, but it's quickly confiscated by her aunt. [[spoiler:Her aunt is crazy, and the KillerOfTheWeek, and is trying to kill the girl (who is presumably a diabetic) by locking her in a room without her insulin after she discovered details about the aunt's previous murder.]]

* Played for horror in one of ''HunterTheVigil'''s NPC monsters. [[spoiler:A Changeling who is constantly shivering is assumed by her coworkers to be an addict, when in fact it's because she has an icicle stuck in her heart.]]

* In the DisneyChannel film ''GoFigure'', Shelby runs off after being berated after falling and messing up her routine. Caitlin follows her into the bathroom and sees a syringe fall under the stall, and she begins to lecture her on drugs. Shelby tells her that she's diabetic. And then they go get sugar-free frozen yogurt.

** Another ''Seinfeld'' is entitled "The Sniffing Accountant", and you can probably guess that one from the title. (It turns out to be an allergy to mohair.)

A classical NotWhatItLooksLike scenario; Alice walks in Bob's room, sees Bob injecting something in his arm with a syringe. Assumptions are jumped, until Bob reveals that he's diabetic, and was taking his insulin shot. May be played for drama or for comedy.

* Without question, [[{{Scooby-Doo}} Scooby and Shaggy]]. They're always scared, always hungry, Shaggy has messy hair and a beard, Shaggy thinks Scooby Doo talks and interacts with him; Scooby is really thin for a Great Dane, and Shaggy is just as willing to eat dog treats as Scooby. This has been the subject of parody for too many works to list.

* When {{Dexter}} is caught in his web of lies at one point and thinks he is going to be exposed as a [[SerialKillerKiller serial killer]], instead it is assumed that he is a drug addict. He goes along with it.

*** Methadone is a hell of a lot more powerful than Vicodin (the former being morphine-based, the latter codeine-based; after ingesting an opioid, the body converts codeine to morphine at a ratio of roughly 5:1). However, one could argue Vicodin is more euphoric than methadone. Uh, yes, I '''do''' have personal experience in these matters. (Vicodin is only a step up from Tylenol 3. Percocet and Oxycontin are considerably stronger than Vicodin, and morphine is stronger than any of these.)
*** Orally, Methadone is about as strong as it gets being several times more potent than the roughly equivalent morphine and oxycodone.
*** Except for fentanyl: so potent its doses are measured in micrograms, not milligrams. The most-common method of administration is dermal patches (under the brand name Duragesic). Though oral fentanyl ''does'' exist: in lollipop form (for children, obviously). Far stronger than heroin yet approved for medical use. Ask the DEA to explain that one.

* In an episode of ''TheSimpsons'' where Marge and Homer reminisce about college days; Homer had become a grunge rock star, but due to Marge dating her teacher he had become introverted and depressed. He wrote a song for her (A parody of "Glycerine") and when she saw it she went to go get him back: She found him with a syringe in his arm. When she went to pull it out, Homer cried "But I need it!". Turns out it was insulin.

* Without question, [[{{Scooby-Doo}} Scooby and Shaggy]]. They're always scared, always hungry, Shaggy has messy hair and a beard; Scooby is really thin for a Great Dane, and Shaggy is just as willing to eat dog treats as Scooby. This has been the subject of parody for too many works to list.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* The Suicidal Tendencies song "Institutionalized" has the protagonist [[GoAmongMadPeople sent to a mental institution]] due to this trope.
** "All I wanted was a Pepsi!"

* There was a ''BatmanBeyond'' episode where Terry's mom jumps to conclusions upon finding suspicious looking patches in her son's bag. To her credit, these ''were'' drugs, which Terry had to bring to his boss for analysis.
** Terry's (entirely truthful) excuses don't help: "They're not mine! I found them!"

* Another RealLife example, not quite following the trope as straight as others, but pretty close: When somebody is taking medication for mental illness, many people (especially people such as MoralGuardians and TheFundamentalist) tend to think that it's as if they were taking something mind-altering. This can lead to embarrassment and awkward situations. Example:
[[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Alice]]: Gah! I forgot to take my meds this morning!

[[TheFundamentalist Bob]]: Meds? Are you diabetic or something?

Alice: No, it's for my OCD. I need it or my brain-chemicals get unbalanced.

Bob: Posh! All that stuff is just an illusion, because you're not devout enough! You're probably having them because of your drug dependency anyway!

Alice: ...But my compulsions are prayer-based.

Bob: PRAY MORE, HEATHEN!

** This trope is what actually attributed to the loss of House's leg. He was in obvious huge amounts of pain, injected himself in the thigh with demerol, the Doctors thought he was just an addict and sent him home. [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready And you know what happened next...]]

* Real Life: If somebody is having to either have a massive number of blood-draws or injections -- or both -- for medical reasons, they might actually have to carry around a card or other paperwork verifying that the tracks are all perfectly legitimate. This troper's mother was friends with somebody who had to show it to more than one suspicious policeman...

* The wonderful episode of ''{{Seinfeld}}'' where Elaine tests positive for opium as a result of eating too many poppy-seed bagels. [[TwoLinesNoWaiting Meanwhile]], the showerheads in Jerry and Kramer's building have been changed to a low-pressure model, and they're so desperate for a decent wash ("I feel like I have little bugs crawling all over me!") that they end up furtively buying new ones from a shady guy with a van.