Green’s Dictionary of Slang

p.g. n.2

[abbr.; a cough medicine based on opium linctus, which heroin addicts use when no stronger drugs are available; William Burroughs, Junkie (1953): ‘P.G. ...Paregoric. A weak, camphorated tincture of opium, two grains to the ounce. Two ounces will fix a sick addict. It can be bought without prescription in some states. P.G. can be injected intravenously after burning out the alcohol and straining out the camphor’]

(drugs) paregoric.

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[US]D. Maurer ‘Argot of the Und. Narcotic Addict’ Pt 1 in AS XI:2 124/2: p.g. Paregoric, which contains about 1.88 grains of opium per fluid ounce. Skilled addicts can ‘cook’ the opium out of it with two fires, one underneath to vaporize the camphor, alcohol, etc., and one on top to consume these ingredients as they bubble up from the compound.
[US]W. Burroughs letter 30 Nov. in Harris (1993) 25: I hope to rid myself of the habit in the course of this trip. Taking along a pint of P.G. and a large supply of goof balls to taper off.
[US]‘William Lee’ Junkie (1966) 116: You can only buy P.G. so often, or the druggist gets wise.
[US]Rigney & Smith Real Bohemia 58: Substitutes for heroin are paregoric (PG) and the synthetics.
[US]H. Selby Jr Requiem for a Dream (1987) 173: Ya could cop all the fuckin p.g. ya wanted.
[US](con. 1940s) Courtwright & Des Jarlais Addicts Who Survived 89: Then they had a panic during the war; from there we went to morphine, whatever you could put your hands on. I used Dilaudid and Pantopon, boiled down P.G., ate yen-shee, if it could be found.