have a Chinaman on (one's) back

To suffer from an addiction to narcotics or the withdrawal symptoms caused by it. A derogatory phrase, it likely refers to opium's classical association with Southeast Asia. Having that Chinaman on her back has kept Janet out of work for years. I want to get clean and turn my life around, but having this Chinaman on my back is absolute torture.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Alem	-	Bosnian
Naomi (2)	nah-o-mee	Japanese
Bistra	-	Bulgarian, Macedonian
Ziv	-	Hebrew
Siem	SEEM	Dutch
Bonner	['bɔnə]